Kiss me in The Meadows
by Pretty Sailor Princess
Summary: Meet the beautiful Sarah Gilmore, daughter of Lorelai Gilmore and sister to Rory Gilmore. Sarah is the sweetheart of Stars Hollow along with her sister, but when Sarah meets Jess the intelligent bad boy, things quickly heat up between the two and love ensues. What happens when these two people from two different worlds fall in love? The love story of The Princess & The Rebel.
1. The Princess Meets The Rebel

_**Chapter One: The Princess Meets The Rebel**_

 _ **The cast of Gilmore Girls: Kiss me in The Meadows**_

 _ **Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano**_

 _ **Dianna Agron as Sarah Gilmore**_

 _ **Alexis Bledal as Rory Gilmore**_

 _ **Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore**_

 _ **Scott Patterson as Luke Danes**_

 _ **Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James**_

 _ **Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore**_

 _ **Edward Herrmann as Richard Gilmore**_

 _ **Prologue:**_ _Meet the beautiful Sarah Gilmore, daughter of Lorelai Gilmore and sister to Rory Gilmore. Sarah is the sweetheart of Stars Hollow along with her sister, but when Sarah meets Jess the intelligent bad boy, things quickly heat up between the two and love ensues. What happens when these two people from two different worlds fall in love?_ _Sparks fly and people fall in love, but is love enough for them to overcome those against them?_

 _The love story of the Rebel and the Princess._

 _Theme song for Episode one of Kiss me in The Meadows: Strangness And Charm by Florence + The Machine_

* * *

 _Hydrogen in our veins, it cannot hold itself, our blood is boiling_

 _And the pressure in our bodies that echoes up above it is exploding_

 _And our particles that burn it all because they aim for each other_

 _And although we stick together it seems that we are stranging one another_

 _Feel it on me love_

 _Feel it on me love_

 _Feel it on me love_

 _(Strangeness and Charm)_

 _See it on me love_

 _See it on me love_

 _See it on me love_

 _(Strangeness and Charm)_

 _ **Sarah**_

 **THE GILMORE GIRLS RESIDENCE**

My hazel eyes snapped wide eyed open when I hear music blaring loudly from my alarm clock. With a tired sigh I sit up from my bed, and reach over to hit the snooze button. I smile when I see sunlight peeking through my curtains and into my bedroom. Carefully getting up from my bed, I grab some freshly clean white undergarments while my Chilton school uniform laid unwrinkled across my desk chair. "Better start getting ready before Rory barges in here." I muttered before heading to the bathroom.

Luckily, no one was currently occupying the bathroom, which could only mean Rory woke up extra early and has gotten dressed already. I was not at all surprised at my sister's punctuality, after all she loved being punctual.

Quickly locking the door behind, I discard my white camisole and matching shorts and let it drop to the bathroom floor. Almost immediately, I hop into the shower and instantly feel my muscles relax under the warm spray of water when it hits my ivory skin. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy a long shower since I was 100% sure that Rory had me on some type of time limit for the length of my shower.

Grabbing the bottle of shampoo, I wash my long tresses with the vanilla scented liquid, and soon after my body with same scented soap. 'I really have to thank mom for getting me this bath set.' I internally sighed. With a quick brush of the teeth and a cup full of mouth wash, I was done with my shower routine.

Turning off the water, I carefully stepped out of the shower, since I knew I tend to be a klutz at the most simplest of times. Hurriedly wrapping my red towel around me, I put on a quick swipe of deodorant and applied some lotion on my body. I let the cloth slide off of me and quickly put on my bra and panties. After I was finished, I made a dash into my room and was relieved that I was ahead of schedule.

My uniform was bearable enough to wear, minus the uncomfortably short pleaded blue skirt that mom made some 'minor' adjustments to. However, I still felt that the length was still too short and inappropriate for a student at Chilton, although there were a lot more girls at school who wore they're skirts noticeably shorter than mine. I slide my white button down shirt on and quickly buttoned the shirt before sliding on my ridiculous short skirt. I fixed my tie around the collar of my shirt and made sure it wasn't tight enough to choke me.

I slid on my white knee length socks before slipping my feet into my Louboutin's t-strap Classic heels. They were colored a dark burgundy and given to my by grandma as a gift for attending Chilton. Mom and I were both equally shocked to say the least. Now, I know I'm usually clumsy on my feet but I did feel the need to wear shoes with heels often because of my incredibly short height.

Approaching my vanity table, I took a seat and brushed my semi damp hair. My hair was a lot longer and darker than Rory's, while her hair reached the tops of her shoulders and was of a lighter shade of chestnut brown, my hair reached to the middle of my lower back and the color being a rich dark brown. My long locks framed my face quite nicely, emphasizing my very dark hazel eyes even more.

Other than our big innocent eyes, Rory and I looked very much different from each other, our eye color was proof of that. Except for the very few similarities we shared that prove us being related and coming from the same womb. It was to be expected since we are fraternal twins. Once I finished brushing my long tresses, I took a moment to look at myself in the mirror.

I had big dark hazel eyes that were framed by long black lashes. Drifting lower to my face, I had a petite nose that fit my face perfectly and full pink lips that have never been kissed, and rosy red cheeks that contrasted nicely against my ivory skin.

I was never one to wear make up since everyone in Stars Hollow and Hartford would gush and compliment me on my natural beauty, which would usually make me both flattered and embarrassed. So I decided to refrian from using any cosmetics, with the exception of special occasions.

"Sarah! Hurry up and get down here, your sister is starting to get anxious! It's almost like she has a serious case of ants in her pants!" Mom shouted from downstairs.

A laugh escaped from me when I had a mental picture of Rory walking back and forth until she was drilling a hole into our carpet floor. "Coming!" I shouted back.

Rising up from my seat, I put on my dark blue blazer with the Chilton's school insignia patched on my left breast pocket. I made a grab for my school bag, the brown fancy leather patched one which my lovely grandmother offered to pay for, complimentary of Chilton. I gave a mental eye roll when I lifted the overly expensive bag over my shoulder. 'God, this must've cost a fortune. Just to carry around books.'

Carefully walking outside my room, I shut the door behind me before walking down stairs. Where I found my mother waiting for me while wearing a casual pink button down shirt with tight hip hugging jeans and comfortable heels. Lorelai Gilmore was definitely a beautiful woman and needed nothing else to show it.

She must've heard me coming down the stairs, because in an instant her head snapped in my direction and while her lips morphed into a teasing smile. "Well there's the other fruit of my loins!"

"Oh mom.. are you seriously going to start that again?" I groaned out.

"Why yes dear daughter!" Lorelai teased. "Aren't you excited for your first day of school?"

I laughed. "Not as much as Rory."

"Finally!" I heard an exasperated sigh coming from the kitchen. "You took forever! I told the both of you last night that we had to be at school earlier than per usual." That voice belonged to the one and only Rory Gilmore, who is also my fraternal twin sister. She looked jittery, probably from all the coffee mixed with her own excitement. Rory wore the exact same uniform as me, except she just wore comfortable black loafers with navy blue tights and instead of wearing a blazer, she wore the school's signature grey sweater.

"Relax Rory, we still have time. I have never met another person more obsessed with arriving on school on time than you." I teased her when I was finally beside mom.

Lorelai looked down at my feet's apparel with a raised brow. "Are those what I think they are?"

I sigh but gave her a quick nod. "Grandma got them for me and wanted me to put them to use. So why not?"

"Whoa, now we're accepting gifts from modern day Hitler?" She gasped dramatically while holding a hand to her chest.

"Oh stop." I slightly shove her.

"Okay, now can we please stop talking about what Sarah's wearing? We have to get to school!" Rory whined as she flailed her limbs dramatically.

"And we will.. right after we go to Luke's." Lorelai added, and I barely managed to stifle the laugh at the exasperated look Rory gave our mom.

I followed Lorelai out of the house while Rory walked glumly beside me. "Oh come on Rory, we won't be long.. besides I'm craving for some delicious chocolate-chip pancakes."

"I better get some chocolate chip pancakes too.." Rory muttered to herself, but I let out a full blown laugh at my sister grumpiness. I wrapped an arm around her shoulder as we walked to the car and soon drove to Luke's. The best diner in the world.. with the world's best coffee!

 ** _..._**

 **LUKE'S DINER**

The drive to Luke's wasn't long. After all, Stars Hollow was a small town, everyone knew everyone and it was a peaceful place to live. I looked over to my mom and noticed the ruckus she was creating just to get an empty table. 'Well almost peaceful.'

Surprisingly, her antics worked and we finally received and empty table. "See kids, don't ever doubt your mother." Lorelai pointed at both Rory and I.

"Right.." I drawled out before taking the seat next to Rory. I looked over and noticed Luke, wiping down any dirty tables. 'Busy as usual.' "Hey Luke!" I greeted him with a smile.

He looked over at our table and gave what he would call a smile, and shot it at us before walking to our table. "Good morning, now what can I get ya?"

"Well good morning to you too grumpy." Lorelai greeted with a teasing smile.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. What can I give you three lovely ladies?" I looked over my mom and saw that she can barely keep it together when Luke said that, especially the stoic face he made when saying that.

"That's better. We three would like chocolate chip pancakes with eggs and bacon, and of course 3 cups of the world's best coffee."

"Uh, no bacon for me." Rory added.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Y'know, drinking that much coffee is not healthy."

"What are you? My dad? I demand my coffee!"

I laughed behind my hand. "You better listen to her Luke, she won't budge."

"Fine, I'll be right back." I heard his heavy footstep disappear behind the counter when he went to turn in our order.

"I can't believe we're just sitting here wasting time, when we should be at school!" Rory groaned.

Lorelai sighed. "You need to relax kiddo, there's no need to have a meltdown this early in the morning."

"But I had a plan!"

"What plan?"

Mom was cut off when Luke delivered our cups of coffee. Almost immediately I took a sip of the hot liquid caffeine and moaned in complete satisfaction when the warm liquid went down my throat. Luke's coffee was definitely out of this world. "Oh I so need this for today." I said mostly to myself, but Lorelai's chuckles indicated she heard otherwise.

"Ditto."

I looked over next to me and saw Rory fidgeting in her seat. "Rory it's not that big of deal. It's still really early, I'm sure we'll make it on time."

"It's not about being on time Sarah, it's about being earlier than everyone one else! I had a plan for the first day of school."

"Does Dean fit into any of these plans?" I asked somewhat hesitantly.

I loved Rory with all my heart, especially since she was my other half. However, I did not like her taste in certain guys, meaning Dean. Mom said I was overreacting and being overprotective of my sister, but I couldn't help but feel that Rory could do so much better than him. 'That, and the fact he's extremely annoying at times..'

Rory smiled bashfully at me, a rosy hue lighting up her cheeks. "Well we're supposed to meet up after school. He said we would hang out after."

"That sounds.. awesome?" I ignored the look Lorelai shot me and continued to drink my heavenly coffee. 'I guess if Dean makes her happy, I should be happy for her too.. right?'

My thinking was interrupted when Luke came back, this time with our food. Rory and I wanted not time digging into our food, my reason was probably because I was hungry, but Rory must've been in a hurry to finish so we could go. However, our mom being the sly woman she is, took her time eating delicately and slowly.

The food was nothing short of spectacular, it was just that good. 'I wonder where Luke learned to cook?' I savored the taste of my last bite of pancakes with the aftermath taste of drinking the rest of my coffee. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Rory finished her food as well, but stared at our mother expectantly.

"How are the eggs?" Rory asked with a slight annoyed face, when Lorelai began eating her pile of eggs.

"Good." she answered with a mouthful of pancakes.

"I'm glad."

"They're still good."

"I'm still glad."

Now it was Lorelai to give an exasperated sigh. "Look freak, we will not be late. Why can't you be normal like your sister?"

I laughed when mom pointed at me.

Rory's lips pursed into a pout. "It's the first day of school. I wanna get there early."

"That's the thousandth time you've said that this morning." I pointed out.

"Is not."

"Is too." I shot back.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Enough, the both of you." Lorelai rubbed her temples in a dramatic fashion. "Rory, we will get there early, I promise."

My sister groaned into her coffee cup. "I have different classes this year, my routes aren't the same. I haven't found the quickest path around. And my locker, they moved it, so I don't even know if it'll work properly and then I'll have to get a new one and God knows how long that'll take or where it'll be and that could send the whole day into chaos. I'm just excited."

"Rory you're really worried over nothing, you're already stressing yourself out before we even make it to school." I pointed out, and my mom nodded in agreement.

She was about to say more, but stopped when her eyes focused on the door. I turned to see what she was looking at and noticed it was our friend Lane.

Lane ran in here and looked to be out of breath. She stared at both me and Rory with relief. "Oh, thank God, you guys haven't left yet."

"Nope. Still here." I smiled at her.

"What's up Lane? Is something wrong?" Rory asked worriedly.

"No! I'm fine!" She paused and adjusted her slightly askew glasses. "Well, I found the greatest record store in the world. It's ten minutes from your school and I'm wondering how much you love me."

"Address?"

"Record Breaker Incorporated, 2453 Berlin Turnpike." Lane answered immediately.

I nodded, since I knew and was very familiar with the place. "I've been there a couple of times, they have very nice collection of music." I reached over into my fancy book bag and took out a piece of paper and of course a pencil. "Okay, let's hear your order Lane."

She smiled thankfully at me. "Okay, Charles Mingus, "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady.""

"Got it." I wrote it down. "Next?"

"The Sonics, Here are the Sonics."

I nodded as I wrote it down.

"Burn me a copy." Rory added.

Lane nodded before continuing on. "MC5, Kick Out the Jams. Fairport Convention, Leige and Lief. BeeGees, Odessa."

Rory raised an eyebrow at her. "BeeGees, really?"

"Hey! There's absolutely nothing wrong with the BeeGees!" I defended.

"What Sarah said. Well, Mojo says."

"So it must be true."

Lane beamed at the both of us before engulfing us in a hug. "Okay, that's it. Now if I could just find a copy of Whistler, Chaucer, Detroit and Greenhill, I will finally be done with the sixties."

"Oh, I can get there today, after school. Or tomorrow at the latest." I suggested rather helpfully. Which earned me a squeal from our excited best friend.

"I love it when you go back to school!"

"So does Rory apparently." I quipped.

"Hey!"

I smiled nonetheless. "Well we better leave now anyway. I wouldn't want to make you late for school sis." I winked at Rory as I walked out of the Diner to Lorelai's car.

"Wait for me Sarah!" She shouted for me.

I laughed the whole way to the car and waited for the donuts my dear mother promised me for later. "To the first day of school." I murmured to myself. Hopefully it will be just another nice day of boring old school.

 ** _..._**

 **CHILTON PREPARATORY SCHOOL**

I was walking down the hallway to my next class with Rory walking right beside me, but I couldn't help but steal glances at my fidgety sister. She was starting to make me worry, and I knew something was wrong from the way she would fidget on her way to class. Luckily I got my answer when I noticed her blue eyes dart to the other side of the hallway. Unfortunately for me, finding out that Paris Geller was the reason why my sister was acting this strange, was very bad news.

The closer Rory and I got to the room, the closer Paris and her posse did too. Only adding to Rory's nerves. Both of us stopped when Paris and her two other companions stopped right in front of the classroom dorm. Paris shot me and Rory nasty glares which I'm sure if she could would put us ten foot under ground. I did my best to match it, but it was no use.

"Humph!" Paris huffed out before charging into the classroom, with her two companions following right behind her.

"What on earth just happened?" I asked in complete confusion.

Rory blew a loud sigh. "Round two."

"Of what?"

"You don't even want to know."

I quickly try to keep up with Rory as she walks at fast pace towards her desk. "Does this have to do with last year? The whole outsmarting one another thing? Does Paris have to make everything into competition."

"It's Paris." She answered blankly.

I was about to argue but found that was all the explanation needed. "Good point."

"Now I'm going to try to talk to her." Rory stated.

My eyes flew open in complete shock. "Why?"

"Because this is a new school year and I don't want her breathing down my neck all the time. Especially now since we're in the same classes this year." My sister explained.

I ran my fingers through my hair, while chewing on my bottom lip. "I really hate it when you sound so logical sometimes."

"Well I am the more logical sister." She joked.

"Right.."

"Just give me a few minutes to talk to her."

"Alone?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah.. I need to do this."

I bit my bottom lip. "If that's what's best. I'll just be heading to an empty seat." I said before gathering my bag.

"Save me a seat!"

"But of course!" I winked at her as I found the perfect seat. It was in the middle row and was placed right beside the window. It had the perfect view of the school's lawn and the school itself in general. I laid my bag across my desk and pulled out one of my favorite book's "Howl" from my bag and continued on the page where I left off. If there was one thing me and Rory had in common, it was our love for reading.

I've read "Howl" over forty times already. It's one of my guilty pleasures and always intrigues me even after reading for the fiftieth time. I stopped reading when I felt someone eyes staring a hole into me, putting my book down for a few seconds I look around and stop she I find an extremely handsome guy with brown hair and green eyes smiling charmingly at me. I rolled my eyes in exasperation and returned to reading my book. 'Yeah, staring is not creepy at all..' My mind sarcastically uttered.

I just wanted this boring day to be over.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Jess_**

 **THE BUS STATION**

The bus finally pulled to a stop. 'Thank fucking god..' I mentally cheered. Now I can finally leave this stinky old bus, especially the rancid smelling old man who decided it would be a good idea to sit next to me. I shuttered at the smell, I definitely could use a shower right now. I gathered all my things which was just a duffle bag filled with clothes, a toothbrush, and a couple of books. I was in a hurry to get off this bus. Urgently.

Once I finally get off the bus from hell, I see an older man sitting awkwardly on a bench wearing a plaid shirt and a baseball cap in a backwards style with worn down jeans. When the man saw me he immediately stood up from his seat and walked forward towards me.

"Jess." It was more of a statement than a question.

I nodded in recognition. "Luke."

He cleared his through awkwardly. "Okay, so uh.. follow me." Luke gestured for me to follow him, which I did. Although I couldn't help but sneak a flew glances around this place. It was a small town for sure. I had no doubt that I would look like an outcast here, but did I really care? Not really.

I didn't even want to be sent to this stupid town, I'm actually quite curious as to when Liz finally decided to start being a mother and take control of my life. Did she have enough of the drugs? The booze? Or did she finally realize she was being a shitty mother in the first place? 'Huh. Let's see how long that lasts, before she gets another boyfriend from the wrong crowd.'

My thinking was cut short when Luke led me through his Diner. It wasn't grand or anything, just a simple place to eat.

"Well, this is my diner." Luke pointed out the obvious.

"Huh." I crossed my arms and looked around the place for anything special. I found none.

"This place belonged to your Grandpa." He explained further.

"Huh."

"Yup."

The awkward silence was painful to say the least, but I knew Luke wasn't a man of many words. "Uh.. I should show you where you'll be sleeping from now on."

"Good idea." I smirked.

Luke led me upstairs into his apartment upstairs above the Diner. It wasn't much, just the necessities of living in a apartment. Luke was a man who like simple things, although I wouldn't exactly hold that against him.

"Well, here we are. It's pretty simple. You know, this is the room. That's my bed, that's your, uh, bed for now, but the sheets are new. There's the bathroom, there's the closet, there's the dresser, the phone, and over there is the kitchen." Luke pointed in all directions of the small apartment. "I've got Frosted Flakes." He added.

"Wow, that's grrrreat." I sarcastically uttered.

"So, is that all your stuff?" He pointed to the duffle bag in my hand.

"Yup."

"Not much there." Luke was now just stating the obvious.

I shrugged carelessly. "Well, Liz is sending the rest later."

"So, you need some help?"

"Nope." I emphasized the "P"

Luke simply nodded. "Okay, uh, I have to get back to the diner. I'm gonna close up at ten tonight, so I thought..-"

"See you at ten." I quickly cut him off.

"But wait, you need keys."

"No I don't." I smirked at him as I set my bag down on my "new" bed and quickly marched downstairs to explore a little more of Stars Hollow.

"I so don't wanna know why."

When I'm finally outside, I exhale a long breath. I needed to be alone right now and decided to go for walk and wander over this small town. "Well it's definitely different from New York." I didn't care where I was going or if I was dressed appropriate. I already looked like an outcast with my plain jeans, green long sleeved t-shirt, and my beat up sneakers. The wind picked up slightly when I realized that I left my jacket at Luke's apartment.

"Time to wander."

 ** _..._**

 ** _Sarah_**

 **OUTSIDE OF CHILTON PREPARATORY SCHOOL**

"Are you sure? I could ask Dean to give you a lift after I'm done." Rory tried to convince me to stick around, but my heart wasn't into it.

"Rory, go ahead. I'll be fine, you worked too hard to get here on the newspaper team." I smiled proudly at my sister. "I promised Lane I would check out the record store for her anyways, now I have time to do that."

I knew she caved in when I heard a defeated sigh from her. "Well.. I'll see you at home then."

"You will! Now go before Paris comes looking for you!" I urged her on, while playfully pushing her into the direction she was supposed to be going.

"You're right, it is Paris after all." She giggled. There was a moment of silence between, since we were unsure of what to do now. I knew what Rory was thinking about and it made my heart slightly ache when I was thinking about it too. Rory and I used to do everything together, but since we transferred to Chilton, things have changed and so have we. Rory has this whole academic journalist future ahead of her, while I was still unsure of what I wanted to do. It's hard to choose when I have so many things I want to pursue and all of them require taking a risk.

Without any hesitation, I take my sister into a tight hug which she immediately returned. "It's going to be okay. I'll be fine, now go and do what you do best Rory Gilmore." I whispered into her ear.

"Only if you promise to do the same Sarah Gilmore." She whispered right back. We both parted from our hug wearing sad smiles. "I'll see you at home?"

"You will." I confirmed before turning around and walking away. I snuggled further into my blazer as I walked to the closest record store, the one I visit upon occasionally. I just need someplace to think and right now the music store was if for me. Thinking about my future was scary, Rory's has hers all planned out and I have no ounce of doubt in my heart that she will get accepted by Harvard and have her journalist career.. but where would that leave me?

I shook my head to stop myself from even thinking about this even further, right now what I needed was some sweet music to put my mind at ease after a boring day of school. Taking out my "Howl" book, I managed to multitask between reading and walking my way around to the record store.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Jess_**

I reached into my pocket to look for a cigarette, after the long day I've had and being stuck on the bus from hell, I needed a good smoke. I reached into my other pocket for my lighter, but stopped searching one something.. or more like someone else caught my eyes. Forgetting about my need to smoke for one minute, I turn my attention to a girl in a school uniform reading a book and walking further across the street.

Not to sound cliche, but I felt my breath catch in my throat when I studied the girl more closely. Licking my lips a bit anxiously, I walk a little more closer so I can get a good look at the girl. She was.. stunning. There was no other words to describe it. I've seen a lot good looking girls back home, but those girls couldn't hold a candle to her.

From what I could see, she had long dark brown hair, almost to the color black with a beautiful face and an amazing body to match. However, what really caught my eye were those big innocent hazel eyes that were focused onto her book.. "Howl" I smirked inwardly when I realized that this girl was more than just a pretty face. I looked at the unlit cigarette in my hand before placing it back into my pocket. "The hell with it." I said, before I followed the girl into the record store.

I was surprised at her taste of music, when she began looking through The Clash's albums. She shuffled through different shelves of albums, which were music dated back to the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. 'She definitely has good taste in music." I slyly smirk.

However, the smirk slipped from my face when I noticed the other males occupying the shop who couldn't keep they're eyes off of her. Either a.) she was really innocent and had no idea that she was being stared at, or b.) she lived on the thrill of being a tease to men all around. I'm pretty sure it was the first one.

My feet began to move on they're own, and suddenly I was getting closer to the beautiful dark haired girl. Silently looking over her shoulder, she held a couple of albums in her hand but what caught my attention was The Clash's "London Calling" album that was nestled between her small delicate hands. I just started realize how short the girl in front of me was. 'Cute.'

"That's a good album." I spoke suddenly.

The beautiful nameless girl jumped up in surprise at the sudden sound of my voice and quickly turned around to face. I hadn't realized I was standing so close, but my smirk never wavered. Her big hazel eyes looked up at me in shock, but I noticed a rosy hue coating her cheeks. "I know, I've listened to it a million times by now."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? You don't strike me as the type of girl who listens to this kind of stuff."

She tilted her head in confusion, before giving me a breath taking smile of her own. "What can I say? I'm just full of surprises."

I was pleasantly shocked at her retort, which only made me want to talk to her more. I held out my hand. "I'm Jess."

"Sarah." She introduced herself with a beautiful smile. I unconsciously shuddered when her hand slipped into mine, leaving a trace of warmth that trailed up my spine. It was something I've never felt felt before, whether it was good or bad, there was only one way to find out.

"Good, I finally have a name to match that beautiful face." I tried keeping a straight face, but I was failing miserably.

Sarah tilted her head, a small teasing smile gracing her lips. "Does that line work with other girls?"

I shrugged. "Usually, but not you beautiful."

Her nose wrinkles slightly at the nickname. "Beautiful? You're not going to try to woo me with that romantic cliché are you?"

I leaned back against the racks of CD's, a firm smirk planted on my face. "And what makes you think I wanted to woo you?"

"I-I didn't mean it like that-" Her cheeks were now a shade darker. "It slipped out by accident. I'm not exactly used to doing.. what we're doing-" Sarah nervously rambled as she gestured to the both of us.

"Flirting?"

Those innocent hazel eyes widened almost comically. "Is that what we're doing?"

"Seems like it."

"Oh."

I took this moment to fully appreciate the girl in front of me, and was a little turned on by the fact she was wearing a school uniform. "What's with the whole get up?" I gestured to her appearance, mostly to the short skirt that reveled soft creamy legs.

Sarah looked confused for a moment before she realized what exactly I was talking about. "Oh this? Well believe it or not, I'm not exactly thrilled to be wearing this, but I have to since I go to Chilton."

"The school for rich snobs?" I interrupted her.

"Not everyone that goes there is a snob, but me and my sister got a chance to attend there since our grandparents our quite wealthy. It's a complicated situation to understand. Mostly because my mom and my grandparents relationship is kinda strained at the moment since my mom walked away from all the wealth." Sarah explained.

"Why would your mother walk away from them?"

"Because she got pregnant at 16." Her eyes widened in shock when she realizes she accidentally blurted that out. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say much about that-"

I waved it off. "It's fine. I won't tell anyone."

Sarah laughed quietly. "It's kinda hard not to tell anyone when basically the whole town knows already."

"Oh, right. Small town."

"Yeah small town." She paused. "Speaking of small towns, I know I haven't ever seen you around here before."

"Aren't you the observant one?" I teased.

"Eh, I try." Sarah teased right back.

"My mom sent me here to live with my uncle. A guy I haven't seen since I was eight." I said slowly, I paused to see her reaction but saw no judgement. 'That's a good sign..' "Uh- I was causing a lot of trouble back home-"

"Back home?"

"New York." I answered and she nodded for me to continue. "It got too much for Liz to deal with-" I stopped when I saw the confusion in her eyes. "My mother, her name is Liz. She isn't exactly a role model herself but I guess she saw that I was turning into a royal fuck up like herself. So she sent me here, she thinks my uncle can straighten me out but I don't know.."

"You don't know?"

"I sorta figured that the whole bad boy thing works for me."

Sarah laughs upright at my joke. "Relax James Dean. I understand. Maybe Stars Hollow is what you need, a fresh start?"

I stare back at her with unwavering eyes. "Maybe."

She blushed underneath my gaze, before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well I hope everything works out with you and your uncle."

"You do, don't you?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Sarah asked with sparkling hazel eyes.

"Because you don't know me."

"That may be true, but from what I've seen so far, I can't say your a too much of a bad guy." She teased me as she walked over to the cashier.

I quirk an eyebrow at her. "And you know this how?"

"Just a gut feeling." Sarah said before handing the cash to the cashier. I noticed she quickly picked the bag of albums before leaving the store. I took this as my cue to keep on walking with her. "You're following me now?" She joked, pretended to look affront.

"Me?" I exclaimed dramatically. "Oh I wouldn't dare. Besides I have nothing better to do."

"Then why else are you still trying to talk to me?" Sarah looked quite skeptical.

"Huh. If I didn't know any better, I would say you're trying to get rid of me." I raised a challenging eyebrow at her.

"Me? Get rid of you?" She pretended to be appalled. "Oh I would never."

The smirk on my face reappeared once again, proof enough that I was really starting to like this girl. "I have reasonable suspicion to prove otherwise."

Sarah gave me a coy smile. "Oh do tell."

"Besides the fact that you're walking incredibly fast while still wearing those death traps." I pointed to her shoes which I knew were no doubt expensive as hell.

"Well you know me, I have places to be."

I wrapped my hand around her arm to stop her from walking further away. "No. I don't know you, but if I had to guess, do any of these places involve anything to do with a boyfriend?"

"A boyfriend?" Sarah laughed. "You know for a stranger you sure are persistent in knowing more about my personal life."

"Awe." I did a mock pout. "And here I thought we were becoming the best of friends."

"Sure you did."

"So is that a yes or no to the boyfriend?" I ask mockingly.

Sarah turned fully around to face me, while looking up at me with her big hazel eyes. "And if I do have a boyfriend?"

I gave her a cocky smirk in return. "Then I would say he's a giant idiot for leaving a girl like you alone to fend for yourself when it comes to dangerous strangers."

"Oh? And should I be worried if you're one of these dangerous strangers?" She questioned lightly with flush cheeks.

I lean down closer so my face is right above hers, and I take the pleasure of watching her squirm under my gaze, especially the beautiful blush she's sporting on her cheeks. "Maybe."

"Or maybe it's more like the fact that you like watching me squirm." Sarah countered. When she wasn't paying attention, I slipped my hand into the unzipped part of her school bag and pulled out her "Howl" book. When I had an appropriate grasp of the boom I immediately pushed it into the my back pocket.

"That too."

The shy smile she tried to hide indicated that she wasn't at all bothered by what I was doing or the way I acted towards her. 'I don't need a filter around her.' I mentally noted.

"No." She shyly whispers while looking up at me through her long lashes.

"No?"

Sarah laughed at my confused state. "No as in no, I don't have a boyfriend."

"Huh."

"You say that a lot huh?"

I chuckled at her teasing. "Now your a comedian? I'm learning more surprises about you minute after minute."

She gave a playful shrug. "What can I say? It's in my genes."

"To spew out horrible jokes?"

"Ouch! You wound me." Sarah grasped at her chest dramatically. Her eyes widened in shock when they focused on her watch. "Crap, time really does fly by when you're having fun. I'm so sorry Jess but I really have to go now."

"Nah it's alright, I understand." I waved it off. I didn't want to make the poor girl feel guilty over leaving me alone, and its not like she was doing it on purpose.

She smiled at me in relief. "Thank you for understanding. I'll see you around." She turned to walk away but something selfish in me wanted to keep her here a bit longer.

"That's it? I just get a "I'll see you around"? Nothing else?" I called out to her. Sarah immediately turned around with a look of confusion appearing on her facial features.

"Well what else do you want from me?"

I smirk at the possibilities. "That's a dangerous question to ask Sarah." I teased but stopped when I noticed the blush on her cheeks. "And here I thought we were getting along just fine."

"We are!"

"Then prove it."

It was her turn to quirk an eyebrow at me. "How?"

"Let's exchange phone numbers." I winced at how I sounded so unlike myself, usually it was the other way around when it came to girls, but there's was something definitely different when it come to Sarah.

"Exchange numbers?" She echoed. "As in..?"

"As in calling each other like every other person who does it, since it is the twenty-first century."

Sarah crossed her arms. "Keep it up with the snarky comments Jess, I'm becoming less tempted to give you my number."

I groaned. "Fine. Sorry."

"You don't strike me as the type of person who easily apologizes, if at all." She stated.

I shrug. "What can I say? I don't care most of the time."

"But you care right now?" Sarah pointed out with a slight smile.

"Maybe. Don't get used to it though, I have a reputation to keep."

"Oh I wouldn't dare mister..?" She trailed off for me to answer.

I blew a quiet sigh. "Mariano."

"Jess Mariano? Huh."

"What?" I questioned her.

"Nothing, it's just.. the name fits you." Sarah shyly spoke with a light flush in her cheeks.

A smirk found its way onto my face. "Good to know miss..?"

"Gilmore." She answered me.

"Sarah Gilmore? Can't say that I've heard a last name like that before."

She shrugged her dainty shoulders. "I'm just that original."

I cleared my throat. "Can I get that phone number now?"

"Ooh, you sound a bit demanding there." Sarah bit her bottom lip to stop a smile from arising, but staring at her lips quickly backfired on me when I realized how much I wanted to kiss her myself. 'God, I haven't even known her for that long and she's already driving me crazy.'

"That's me." I winked at her.

Sarah stifles a laugh of amusement before reaching into her fancy book back to grab a blank piece of paper and a pencil. She quickly scribbled down her personal phone number. "Here you go, I hope you treasure it with your life."

"Oh I know I will."

"I'll see you around Jess Mariano." She threw a shy smile at me before walking to the bus stop.

"Yeah.. I'll definitely be seeing you around Sarah Gilmore." The smirk on my face never fell as my eyes never strayed from her backside.

And what a lovely backside it was..

 ** _..._**

 **LUKE'S DINER**

I walk into the Diner to find it moderately busy. It's safe to say that uncle Luke business isn't a a total ghost zone that I originally thought it was. I was trying to escape upstairs unnoticed, especially when I was still stuck on thinking about Sarah. That was a subject I didn't mind to think about for a little while longer.

"Jess, hey, good. I'd like you to meet someone." I was snapped out of my daze when I heard my uncle. I noticed that Luke was gesturing to the woman in front of me.

The mystery older woman got up from her seat to greet me, but what really caught my attention, were her big innocent eyes. They immediately reminded me of Sarah except this woman's eyes were blue instead of her rich hazels, but I remained nonchalant about it. The woman stepped forward and offered a kind albeit awkward smile. "Hey. Hi, I'm Lorelai. I just wanted to meet you before Luke had a chance to fill your head with all kinds of little lies about me."

"Hi." I simply greeted back with a blank face. I didn't know this woman very well, I wouldn't exactly be a Chatty Cathy with her right off the bat. Not that I was a very talkative person to begin with.

Lorelai cleared her throat a bit put off from my bland greeting, but I didn't really care. "You know, you should meet my daughters. They're both about your age. They can show you where all the good wilding goes on..." She trailed off when she realized she was going nowhere with me. "Okay, well, it's nice to meet you. I hope you like it here.. so, class dismissed."

I nodded in acknowledge before climbing upstairs to the apartment above us.

"Uh, are you hungry 'cause I can.." I mostly ignored Luke and continued on my way upstairs. I shut the door behind when I realized I was finally alone. I dug into my pocket and pulled out Sarah's number. I continued to stare at the written sheet with a faint grin. 'That girl was really something else..'

I reached into my back pocket and pulled out Sarah's "Howl" book, I was amused at how easy it was to swipe away from her but was reminded of the fact of how close I got near her and how much I wanted to be close to her in the same way again. Shaking my head, I opened the boom and noted where she left off, I turned to the first page of the book and grabbed a pencil from Luke's desktop.

Carefully reading each word for word, I started writing in the margins of her book with great interest. A smirk came across my face when I wondered how Sarah would react when she found out that I had written in her book.

'I'll just have to find out when I return it to her.'

 ** _..._**

 ** _Sarah_**

I couldn't stop smiling, whether it was because of the fact that I actually had a good time with someone other than Rory or simply because I was happy hanging out with Jess. He was definitely different from the other guys at school or even at Stars Hollow. It was a pleasant cultural shock that I truly welcomed.. and it didn't hurt that Jess was also extremely handsome.

With his dark hair, and incredible dark brown eyes which conveyed so much emotion, it managed to leave me absolutely breathless when he looked at me. His crooked smirk made my heart melt and my knees wobble. It was a wonder I stayed upright the whole time when talking to him. I blushed when I found myself staring at his lightly tanned physic, noting how lean and muscular he was.

But there was also one more thing I knew for certain about Jess Mariano..

He was the definition of what being a bad boy was. I may have not known him long enough to know this, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. I remembered how he acted and noted how he had no filter or any censorship when it came to saying whatever was on his mind. He obviously doesn't care about what anyone thinks of him. 'Besides me..' I smiled a bit at my afterthought.

I was actually excited of the prospect of Jess calling me, Jess was actually the first guy I've ever been interested in since.. well ever. No one in Stars Hollow has ever captured my attention the way Jess managed to do in a span of an hour.

When I finally was in front of Luke's, I realized I had to stop thinking about about Jess, otherwise mom would suspect something happened since I would most likely become a blushing mess. I prided myself for thinking of something else when quickly walking in.

I saw an empty seat next to mom and quickly sat beside her. "Hey mom." I greeted her with a kiss on the cheek before stealing a quick sip of her coffee. "Ah.. I needed that."

Lorelai looked amused. "Hello my sweets. I see you made a dash for my coffee."

"Sorry mom, I needed it after the long day I had at school."

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember to get your own cup of coffee next time!" She exclaimed dramatically while hugging the cup to her chest. "My precious!"

"I got it mom." I laughed.

"So.. how was your day at school?"

"Boring. As usual." I responded in a sickly sweet tone.

She sighed. "That bad huh?"

"No. It's really not that bad. It's just.."

"Just what honey?" Lorelai reached for me hand and squeezed in comfort.

"I don't know what my future holds like everyone else does in school. Not like Rory does, she already has her whole life mapped out on paper and is well on her way onto carrying it out. Especially since she joined the school newspaper.." I paused in mid-sentence. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really proud of Rory. It's just things are changing and I'm not quite sure if I like it yet."

"Sarah.. why haven't you said anything before?"

I ran a steady hand through my long tresses. "Because I didn't want you or Rory to worry about me."

Lorelai cupped both my cheeks in her hand. "I forget all the time that it's no walk in the park being a mother, but I literally have the best two kids in the world that make my job so much easier-"

I open my mouth to interrupt but she shoots me a look to remain silent.

"Sarah, you have to stop comparing yourself to Rory because you are not her and she is not you. Both of you are twins that I held both equally in my stomach for 9 months, but completely different from each other."

I bit my bottom lip in thought of my mother's words.

"It's easy to be a proud mother when I have the two greatest kids in the world. But Sarah, just because Rory has her life academically ready doesn't mean she is.."

"Has Rory ever..?"

"No, but I can tell when one of my daughters starts stressing about school a little too much and starts getting grey hairs before reaching the tender age of 50." She squeezed my shoulder.

I laughed quietly at the scenario.

"Kid, the point I'm trying to make is, that you are your own person and still my beautiful daughter. No matter if you're confused or scared I'll always be here to help you. Any time you need it."

I felt the familiar sting of tears but immediately pushed them back, instead I settled for tackling my mother in a tight hug which she immediately returned. "Thank you for being on my side.."

"Oh Sarah.. I'll always will be on your side. Even when you're old and grey. Don't ever forget that." Lorelai whispered into my ear before settling with stroking my hair in a comforting manner. Time flew by as mom and I enjoyed our time at Luke's Diner, talking about everything from life, school, work, and boys.

I nervously played with my hair when I thought about reveling the Jess incident, which seemed to be the perfect moment to tell her. So with a deep breath, I proceeded to tell mom about Jess and how I ran into him, but I kept his name a secret and labeled him as 'mystery man' and minused his bad boy tendencies.

"So.. this mystery man. He has your panties in a bunch?" Was the first question my own mother decided to ask me.

My cheeks instantly reddened. "Mom!"

"What? I'm just asking. It's the first time I've seen you act so.."

"So..?"

"So flustered over a guy. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you finally started to think about the prospect of romance. People we're beginning to think that you batted for the other team." She laughed. "Well it was that, or it was because you decided to go down the path of celibacy."

I gasped in shock. "They did?"

Lorelai nodded. "Not that I agree with them but you have turned down every single boy that has asked you out and do keep to yourself most of the time-"

"Mom.." I groaned. "It isn't like that at all, you just don't know what it's like to go to school with some of the boys that ask me out, when really all they're looking for is a girl to look good with on their arm and show off to their rich snooty parents. I don't want a relationship like that."

There a pregnant pause.

"Who said anything about a relationship?" Mom asked with a raised brow.

"W-what?"

"I thought it was just a bit of harmless flirting, so I teased you about it." She paused. "But here you are, actually contemplating the idea of dating the mystery guy."

I shyly smile. "Well he was different. Really smart too, I'd even go as far as to say behind all his wit and sarcasm, there's a whole lot of intellect there."

"Smart and good looking? A dangerous combination."

"Oh you have no idea." I muttered.

"Well this guy must've been something else."

"Oh he was- is.." I said whilst taking a sip of my own coffee. 'Great job Sarah, way to bring up Jess even after you promise yourself you wouldn't.'

"Do you plan on seeing him again?" Lorelai's question surely did throw me for a loop.

"I-I don't know.."

"Well.. it is Stars Hollow, he can't hide from you forever."

"Mom." I groaned, my cheeks coloring with my embarrassment.

"What? It's just a good point."

I turned back to my coffee, but both Lorelai and I were stunned when we saw an angry Rory slam her book bag on the same table we were sitting at. Rory lips were pursed in a firm line while her cheeks gave away her angry flush.

"Whoa, what happened after I left?" I muttered accidentally.

"Oh my God, I hate her." Was all Rory said as if it was supposed to explain everything.

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Ah, me too."

"You have no idea who I'm talking about."

"Solidarity sister?" Mom tried.

Then it suddenly clicked, the one person that was dedicated into making my own sister her own academic arch rival.

"Paris." Both Rory and I simultaneously answer.

"Ugh. Well, that I should've guessed."

Rory groaned in annoyance. "She thinks she can torture me off the paper and she can't."

"No, she can't."

"I have never met anyone like her before. Her insistence on holding onto this stupid grudge that is based on nothing and will never ever end shows an amount of commitment that I would've never thought possible. I'm beginning to admire her." The look on my sister's face meant otherwise.

"First day sucked?" Lorelai questioned.

Rory gave a small shrug. "Just the paper stuff sucked, the rest of the stuff was good."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. Did you happen to run into Max?" My eyes widened when I realized that I forgot that my own mother used to date my literature teacher. 'Talk about awkward..'

"Actually, no." My sister answered with.

"Really?"

Rory nodded albeit a bit hesitantly. "Yeah, our paths just didn't cross."

"Don't both of you guys have him as your Lit teacher?"

"Yes, but I have him a different time." I stated.

"Yeah, but I do have really tall people sitting in front of me." Rory explained rather awkwardly. Now both Lorelia and I could tell Rory was purposefully avoiding our literature teacher. Rory was just a horrible liar, but I'm not exactly one to talk. 'That's right, I'm even worse at lying.'

"Rory." Lorelai called out.

"Okay! Okay!" Rory relented to being honest. "I saw him in the hallway and I walked the other way and.."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I thought that's what you'd want me to do."

Lorelai sighed quietly before grasping Rory's hand in hers. "Just because Max isn't apart of my life anymore doesn't mean he can't be apart of yours. He has to be apart of yours. You have to see him and talk to him, and that's okay. That's good. I know everything seems screwed up right now, but I don't want you to avoid him, especially not on my account. Okay?"

"All right.."

I smiled rightfully at my sister. "See Rory? I told you that you should've talked to mom about this." Rory responded by sticking out her tongue at me.

"I'm sorry that I put both of you into this position." Lorelai smiled guiltily.

"Mom, it's really okay. I've been fine with it since last year."

Rory just grinned. "That's okay. It's going on the list."

"My God, that list is getting long."

I laughed into my cup. "You have no idea."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. So if you're done teasing me, we need to head home."

"Right behind you captain." I quipped while gathering all my things.

All of us stood up from our seats and left Luke's Diner, it wasn't long until we three we're walking further down the path home.

"By the way, we are having a little gathering tomorrow night." Lorelai stated in a sudden manner.

I was a bit taken surprise since we never have people over, except the rare few occasion of Sookie coming over. "What kind of gathering?" I asked while fiddling with the sleeve of my blazer.

Mom bit her lip. "Well, Luke's nephew's here, and I thought we could try to make him feel a little more at home."

"Luke has a nephew?" I was confused since Luke never talked about a sister or a nephew.

Rory shared my curiosity. "Did you meet him?"

"Sort of."

I raised an eyebrow at her in interest. "What's he like?"

Lorelai quietly scoffed. "Well, he's not gonna be subbing for the new dodo on the Regis show any time soon, let's put it like that."

"Good to know." I laughed, as we all carried on walking to the car. After the long day of school I've had, I seriously needed some alone time at home.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Jess_**

 **LUKE'S DINER [LUKE'S APARTMENT]**

I took a long drag of my cigarette, feeling my tense muscles slacken when I release the smoke from my lungs. My hands shuffled the deck of cards in my hand casually, since I was starting to get extremely bored. My eyes wandered to my door when I noticed it was Luke entering my "new" room.

He cleared his awkwardly. "So you get unpacked?"

"Yup."

"Get enough space in the closet?"

I nodded absentmindedly. "Plenty."

"You hungry?" Luke tried to talk to me again.

"Eighteen." I noted.

"What?"

I sighed, before raking a hand through my hair. "Just counting how many questions 'til we hit twenty."

"Okay, never mind." Luke scowled. Fortunately for me, the phone began to ring and Luke wasted no time picking up the phone. "Yeah? Yeah, Liz, he got here fine."

"Got here at ten this morning." I added.

Luke nodded at something she said, but ignored most of the conversation. "Okay, hang on a sec. Jess?"

"Pass." I wasn't in the mood to talk to Liz, not after all the bullshit she's put me through. I'm not buy her whole concerned act nor was I foolish enough to believe that she was actually changing for the better.

"Jess, come on." He tried again to convince me.

"Nope."

Luke groaned in annoyance. "What am I supposed to tell her?"

I gave him a careless shrug. "Tell her I gotta take another crack at that closet. You know, I think I hung my Tool T-shirt next to my Metallica T-shirt and they don't really get along."

"You really want me to tell her that?" He looked dumbfounded at the suggestion.

"You think a different band combo would sell it more?"

Luke shot me a look before returning to the phone. "Yeah, Liz, Jess is gonna have to call you back." He paused. "Yeah, he's helping me out with a shelf thing and his hand are full.." Luke paused again when speaking with her. "Yeah, I'll tell him. Okay, bye." After he hung up the phone, Luke turned to me with a blank face. "She said to tell you that your stuff will be here on Friday."

"Great, we'll have a party." I retort sarcastically, taking another drag from my cigarette.

He cleared his throat awkwardly before fixing his gaze on me. "You know, your mom thinks this is.. you know, for the best and for your own good and.." He trailed off unsurely. "Anyhow, I guess you'll just call her when you feel like it."

I finished shuffling my deck of cards and laid them out on my bed. "You wanna play some poker? Five bucks a hand?"

"No."

"Ten?"

"No."

"I can't go any higher than ten." I said with a shake of my head.

"Jess."

"Okay, fifteen."

Luke sighed. "Yeah, I don't wanna play poker."

"You sure?" I tried again.

"I'm sure."

"Okie dokie." I shrug my shoulders and gave up trying to convince him to play.

"So, listen, Lorelai- you met her today, remember?" I nodded uncaringly. "Anyhow, um, she invited us to her house tomorrow night for dinner. Her daughters Sarah and Rory, who you didn't meet but you'll like 'cause they're a lot like Lorelai, but they got a slightly tighter grasp on reality." I zoned out when he mentioned the name "Sarah" was it the same girl I met today? The same girl that managed to leave an impression on me in just a day in this boring old town?

"Anyhow, she'll be there, and you know, it'd be a.. I don't know, it'd be a chance for you to meet more people and so I-I said yes." Luke finished with an awkward cough.

I scowled when I realized that Luke was putting me out of my comfort zone and forcing me to do something I knew I had no interest in doing. I got up from my bed and grabbed my jacket, leaving my uncle alone in his apartment.

Dipping my hand into my left pocket, I take out another cigarette and my lighter. After the day I've had, I need it more than ever. The only upside of today was meeting a certain brunette who I have the chance of meeting tomorrow.

I smirked to myself. "Maybe tomorrow won't be so bad."

 ** _..._**

 ** _Sarah_**

 **CHILTON PREPARATORY SCHOOL [The Next Day..]**

"Hey Rory, by any chance did you borrow my "Howl" book? I can't seem to find it anywhere." I searched deeper into my fancy school bag, but found no sign of my book.

Rory looked at me confused. "No, I didn't take it. Why? You can't find it?"

I sighed tiredly and rested my hand against my forehead. "No I can't. I could've sworn it was in my bag yesterday. I was reading it when I went to the record store and put it away.."

"Maybe you took it out when we got home?"

"But I would've remembered, or at least it would've been placed back into my bookcase." I tried to recall any recollection of where I may have put the book, but once again found nothing. The last time I saw it, it was nestled safely in my bag.

"Then you might have to get another copy." Rory advised.

A loud groan escaped me. "But I don't want to. I've had that book for years now and it has sentimental value to me."

Rory patted my back and gave me a small sympathetic smile. If anyone knew exactly how I felt, it would be Rory. She knows exactly what it means to have a specific book that holds a special meaning to the reader. I was looking so forward into reading "Howl" during lunch, but fate has a plan of its own.

"You can borrow one of my books for now." Rory suggested, as she dug into her own book bag and pulled out a book.

I gingerly grasped at the book and read the title. "Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende"

"I just finished the book, and was actually going to recommend it later, but since you have no book to read at lunch, you can start reading it now."

A thankful smile graced my lips. "Thanks Rory, I owe you one."

"You owe me a book." She corrected.

"Deal." I said in agreement. My eyes caught something coming from behind Rory and I realized it was Paris walking towards us. "Incoming, Paris coming in exactly four seconds." I warned Rory.

Her blue eyes widened in shock but nodded. "I thought she wanted to see me at lunch."

"Apparently there's been a change of plans."

Paris walked over to me and Rory, while we stood by our lockers silently. "Oh hello Sarah."

My body froze in shock when Paris greeted me, she usually shot me dark looks along with Rory, but having her stand there right in front of me while wearing a polite smile was just strange and.. so not like her. 'Talk about a scary dream.' "Hi Paris." I responded just as polite.

"Do you mind if I borrow your sister for a second?"

I looked at Rory and she didn't seem to have any objections. "No. Go for it." I said before turning back to Rory. "Remember we have that dinner after school, don't be too late after school."

"Yes mom." She joked before walking off with Paris.

"That also means not to go suck faces for an hour with Dean." I teased.

"Sarah!" She shouted across the hallway with a red a face, but I pretended to ignore it with a sly smile covering my face.

"Well that was certainly strange." I said to myself as I walked to my next class which was thankfully lunch. Now I could certainly catch up on my reading, although there was still a nagging feeling tugging in the back of my head since my heart was still set on finding my "Howl" book.

"I'll worry about it later. Right now I need a good read."

 ** _..._**

 **THE GILMORE GIRLS RESIDENCE [Later that day..]**

Once I stepped through the front door, my senses were invaded with the smell of delicious mouthwatering food with the scent of garlic wafting through the air. "Someone's cooking?" I muttered in disbelief.

"Mom? I'm home!" I called out, when I stepped further into the house. I dropped my bag onto the couch and quickly walked to the kitchen.

"In here!" She called from the kitchen.

I was surprisingly greeted by the sight of Lorelai and Sookie preparing dinner, with Sookie cooking the delicious main course which I could see was a big pot roast while my mom helped prepare the side dishes. By now I knew my eyes were wide as saucers. "Did I just step into the twilight zone? Or is my mother actually cooking?"

"Oh hardy har har." Lorelai rolled her eyes before returning to the task at hand. I walked over to both women and kissed both their cheeks.

"Hey Sookie!"

The gentle woman smiled kindly at me. "Hello sweetheart."

"'Not that I'm not loving the food, because you know I do love your food, but what exactly are you cooking and why is Sookie here to cook it?" I asked, the last question was more for my mother.

Lorelai sighed. "Well you know how useless I am in the kitchen, I brought the idea up to Sookie and she was a willing participant."

I turned to Sookie who held her hands up in defeat. "Hey, you know I love cooking for you guys."

"Alright, now can you answer my first question?"

"Oh! Well I'm making a pot roast, some chicken wings, mashed potatoes and some different kinds of salad." My eyes widened when she listed the food courses.

"Are we feeding the townspeople?"

"I know it's a lot but I wanted to make sure that your guests have options to eat just in case they do not like pot roast." Sookie explained.

"What!" I exclaimed. "Sookie, any person would be crazy not to like your cooking. It's the best!"

"See Sook! What did I tell you? Even the fruit of my loins agrees with me!" Lorelai added triumphantly.

"I just want everything to be perfect. We are gonna make this kid think that he died and went to heaven." Sookie said with such determination, you would think she was trying to impress a food critic.

"Or Henry the Eighth's house." Jackson added when he suddenly walked into kitchen. "Hey Sarah." He smiled at me which I returned gladly before he set a grocery bag down on the kitchen counter. "I got the cheese!"

"The cheese?"

Jackson nodded. "Sookie also wants to make grilled cheese sandwiches."

I looked at the chef, flabbergasted at all this food. "All for Luke's nephew?"

"She must really want to blow the kid's socks off." Lorelai joked.

"Not his socks, but his tastes buds." Sookie corrected.

I laughed and looked at all three occupants in the kitchen. "Okay, while you three continue to cook I'll be in room freshening up. Is that alright?"

"Of course my sweets, I'll call you down when they're here." I nodded in agreement before I grabbed my bag from the couch and climbed upstairs and went straight into my room.

Shutting my door behind me, I went straight for my bed and sighed in relief when I felt the cool sheets against my skin. I wasn't exhausted, just needed a few quiet moments to myself before I got ready for dinner. I was a bit disappointed yesterday since Jess hadn't called me and still hasn't, it made me wonder if I was the only one interested into getting to know one another. "Who knows.." I mumbled.

Sulkily, I rise off my bed and take off my uniform and shoes which left me in my pearly white undergarments. I took a shower earlier today and reapplied my deodorant before heading straight to my closet to pick an outfit to wear for dinner.

My eyes sparkled with joy when I chose to wear a soft white sleeveless dress with thin straps. The length of the dress reached my lower thighs and looked casually cute. Instead of heels, I chose to wore my brown Silas style boots since it was much more comfortable to wear and I felt it added a unique touch to the dress.

I left my long hair down after I quickly brushed it, since I liked it better that way. I applied a quick swipe of my vanilla Chapstick on my lips before looking at myself through my vanity mirror.

Once I was happy with my appearance, I reached into my bag for the book Rory gave me. I opened it to where I left my book mark and continued reading from where I left off.

My attention was directed to my door when I saw Rory entering my room. "Rory? I thought you were going to stay at school a bit longer?"

Rory fiddled with door. "The newspaper meeting wasn't long, we were just going over our assignments for the paper."

"Assignments?"

"They want me to interview Mr. Medina."

That certainly got my attention. I sat up straighter in my seat, if that was possible, and gauged for Rory's reaction. "Really? Why do they want you to interview him?"

"Because he won the election as most favored teacher by the entire student body."

"Oh."

"Yeah.."

I got up from my seat and smiled at her. "Well hopefully it won't be too awkward, after all he's a pretty cool guy."

"I hope so too." Rory mumbled.

My sister stood there fidgeting under my gaze and I quickly became confused. "Uh, Rory not that I mind that you're in my room, but is there something else you need?"

"A-actually yes, I was wondering if you could help me choose something to wear for dinner.." I was shocked by her admission, but I felt an easy smile appear on my lips.

"Of course I'll help you. C'mon." I grabbed her hand and led her back to her room. Rory's room wasn't much different from mine, accept her room was colored a spring yellow. It went very well with the room. I noticed she laid out a couple of clothes on her bed. Rory was using good at picking out her own clothes, I wonder why she started to ask now.

For Rory, I picked out a blue short sleeved shirt and a pair of nice jeans that would look really great on her. For footwear, I tried to convince here to wear something other than sneakers but settled for putting on her nicest pair of sneakers. "Thanks Sarah." She genuinely smiled at me.

"No problem Rory, I'll see you downstairs." Shortly after, I returned to my room and continued reading from where I left off.

 ** _..._**

I was just getting further into my book when I heard Lorelai shout "Sarah!" from downstairs. 'They must be here..' I left my book mark on the page where I stopped reading before closing my book.

I hurried outside my room and quickly ran down stairs only to spot Rory and mom already downstairs by the staircase. Once I reached them, I have both of them a small smile. "They're here already?"

"Better now then later, Sookie is almost done with the food." Lorelai said to me before leading both me and Rory to our guests.

Lorelai led us into the living room where I saw Luke in the living room, but that wasn't what caught my attention. What really caught my eye was the person standing next to Luke, with those familiar dark brown eyes and that one of a kind crooked smirk.

"Jess?"

His eyes immediately darted to mine, with his usual smirk was now plastered on his face. "Sarah?"

 ** _..._**

 ** _Jess_**

"Wait, you two know each other?" Lorelai asked the both of us, but I was too busy staring at Sarah to even really care. She looked beautiful in just a simple white dress, while wearing that breath taking smile of hers. The shock in her hazel eyes hadn't left just yet, but I was more amused than anything else at the moment. I had my suspicions that the Sarah I encountered in the record store was the same one uncle Luke was talking about being Lorelai's daughter.

A blush colors Sarah's cheeks. "Y-yes.. he's the guy I met at the record store yesterday."

Lorelai gasped as her eyes widened in huge saucers. "This is the mystery guy!"

"The mystery guy?" I echoed, giving Sarah a questioning look.

The redness in her cheeks deepens when I look at her.

"You've already met my sister?" Another girl said, which who I assumed was her sister. Sarah and her didn't look much alike, except maybe sharing the same innocent eyes. Other than that, that's where the similarities ended.

"Jess." Luke said in a warning tone.

"What?" I was a bit annoyed at the looks I was getting. "Yes, I know Sarah. I saw her at the record store yesterday after I went out. Happy?"

"Well this is a little awkward.." Lorelai stated loud enough for everyone to hear.

Sarah cleared her throat. "Since we're all still waiting for dinner to be finished, I would like to show Jess around.. if that's okay."

"Sarah.." Lorelai started warily.

"Please..?" She tried to convince her.

The older woman sighed in defeat. "Alright."

Sarah smiled widely at her mother. "Thanks mom! Come on Jess." The shorter girl grabbed my hand and led me upstairs, I couldn't help the small smile on my face when I noticed her enthusiasm.

The door to her room was open, leaving my eyes being able to scan the room in front of me. It was a simple room, colored a soft pink but wasn't as girly as I previously suspected. "Welcome to my room." Sarah said while gesturing to me to follow me in.

"Nice." I stated but I was instantly drawn to her bookcase. It was large and the color of oak brown with dozens of books placed in with they're spine facing forward.

Sarah shrugged lightly with her back facing me. "Eh, it's okay. As long as I get to read in privacy, it's good enough for me."

Cocking my head to the side, I take in the girl sitting on her bed and noticed a book in her hand. "You're reading a new book already?"

"Sadly, yes. I was reading a different book yesterday, but I can't seem to find it." Her eyes were now downcast as she fiddled with the new book in her hands.

I inwardly smirk at the sight. "You were reading "Howl" weren't you?"

"Yes, but how did you-"

Reaching into my back pocket, I took out her copy of "Howl" making those big hazel eyes widened further in shock and from what I could also see was relief. "What can I say? I was interested."

Sarah got up from her bed and walked towards me. "You stole my book!" she looked at me accusingly.

I held my hands up in defense. "Hey, I couldn't help myself."

She folded her arms, whilst her lips were pursed into a small pout. "You could've just asked to borrow it."

"But where's the fun in that?"

"Thief." She joked. "Have you finished reading it yet?"

"Me? Nah." Her face slightly fell at my answer, and I suddenly felt a small knot of guilt form in the pit of my stomach. "But I will be soon. I'll give it to you right after I finish."

"Right after you finish?" She echoed.

"Right after I finish." I confirmed. "I don't read much." Okay, maybe that was a tiny little lie.

Sarah seemed to accept my answer, but soon I saw her lips form into a small sly smile.

"What?" I questioned her sudden mood change.

"So you're Luke's nephew?"

"Unless there's some other nephew I don't know about, then yes." I smirked at my own smartass comment.

She merely rolled her eyes but still stood in front of me. "And you didn't think to inform me about this?"

"Last I checked, we just met yesterday and I didn't think it was important enough to bring up." I retorted smartly. "Besides, you didn't tell me that Lorelai was your mom."

"That's completely different."

"I don't think it is."

Sarah bit her lip to stifle a laugh. "Okay, maybe it isn't! But still!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped when my eyes darted to her windowsill that had elegant white curtains around the corners of it. "So do these open?"

She followed where my eyes were trained, before settling for a wary nod. "Oh yeah, you just have to unlatch them and then push."

"Great. Shall we?" My hand gestured to the window.

Her nose crinkled in confusion. "Shall we what?"

"Bail." I answer plainly.

"No."

"Why?"

Sarah breathed a small sigh, whether it was sigh of boredom or being tired, that I didn't know. "As appealing the idea sounds, it's still a Tuesday night in Stars Hollow. There's no place to sneak to, and the 24-hour mini-mart just closed twenty minutes ago."

I shrugged uncaringly. "So? We'll walk around or sit on a bench and stare at our shoes."

"Jess, as much as I want to "bail" it wouldn't feel right. Sookie just made a ton of really great food, and I'm starving and even though it may not seem like it right at this moment, we'll have a nice time. Trust me." Sarah said with sparkling hazel eyes that glimmered with something I was so unfamiliar with.

I scoffed in disbelief. "I don't even know you."

She simply smiled at me. "Well, don't I look trustworthy?"

Those words struck something inside me, as I stared at the beautiful blue eyed girl in front of me. "Maybe."

A quiet laugh escaped her. "Do you say that a lot too?"

"Yep. It's one of my favorite words." I sarcastically shot back.

"Good to know." She teased.

My feet were moving by themselves, inching forward towards Sarah. The smirk on my face never left for a second. "I'd like to think I'm more of man of actions than words."

Sarah laughed, as she slowly backed up away from me, until she ran out of space when her back hit her bookcase. "A man of action huh? I don't think so."

"I am. Want me to prove it?" I leaned down closer to her face, a rosy hue starting to cover her cheeks.

"Jess.." she whispered, looking up at me through long lashes.

"That's my name." My hands drifted down her arms, until I was met with her small hands. Our close proximity sent a shiver down my spine, and I was sure I wasn't the only one feeling it when I saw her body quiver for a short second.

"As much as I want to continue this. We have dinner waiting for us." Sarah ruined the moment by taking her hands from me.

I groaned at the loss of contact. "Way to ruin a moment."

"Well think of it this way." Sarah paused, with a coy smile overtaking her lips. "That's what you get for not calling me yesterday."

As soon as she said those words, I knew I wasn't dealing with just any girl. "Would you believe me if I said I fell asleep?"

"Maybe." she mimicked me from earlier.

A small chuckle escaped from me when I follow her into the kitchen.

"Do you want a soda?" Sarah asked me as she reached into the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

I shook my head from behind her, but my eyes were glued to her lovely backside. "No, I'll get it." I said after a moment.

She shrugged her delicate shoulders. "Suit yourself."

When it was my turn to get myself a drink, I saw a pack of cold beer nestled inside the fridge. Making sure I had no watchful eyes on me, I took one beer and walked to the back door to drink the alcohol substance. What I hadn't plan on was Sarah following me out on the back porch.

I didn't care that she followed me out the back door, I was too busy opening my beer and drinking the cold fuzzy liquid. After a brief moment of silence, I was starting to squirm under her hazel eyes, as they observed me with a blank stare.

"What?"

Sarah leaned against the pillar of her house, her lip caught in between her teeth. "Oh don't mind me. I'm just observing the whole 'rebel without a cause' act."

I snorted at her answer. "Well if you could stop, that would be great."

"Well maybe if you could stop drinking beer, because you are underage, we can go back inside and have dinner." She shot back. "Are you not hungry?"

"Not really."

"Well I am. Sookie made you some grilled cheese if you don't like pot roast."

"Oh, well, if I'd had known that." I retorted rather sarcastically.

Sarah sighed before crossing her arms. "Let me guess, you don't want to be here."

"Doesn't matter." I evaded the question.

"It kinda does. You don't want to be here in Stars Hollow." She said it more like it was a fact than an opinion.

I scoffed. "Well geez, Sarah, why would anyone not want to be here in Stars Hollow? That just sounds crazy. I mean, it's not like I had a life before moving here or anything."

Sarah looked at bit hurt, but she wanted to know the truth. "Jess, I'm not saying you didn't have a life before being forced to move here. I get it, but you're living with Luke now and he's willing to put up with you. So if you could, please at least act like being here isn't killing you."

"You get it, huh?"

"Well no." She paused before looking straight up at me. "But it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you have family issues. I'm pretty sure my mom could relate to that. Maybe moving here isn't what you wanted, but its at least a second chance to start fresh. So stop trying to distance yourself from people who are actually trying to help!"

My mouth formed a small smirk. "What? Do you want me to stay here or something?"

"W-what?" Sarah sputtered with red cheeks.

I shrugged indifferently. "I don't know. The whole starry eyed 'you're so much better off here, just give it a chance' speech. You're either really naïve, or you have an ulterior motive. So which one is it?"

Those rich hazel eyes darkened at my accusation, I found the sight to be enticing. "I don't know you enough to ask you to stay or ask anything from you. It was a simple dose of advice."

I took a swig at my beer, before backing her up against the pillar. I saw her eyes widened when our bodies were pressed nearly together. "Well, now, that's not very neighborly." I whispered loud enough for her to hear.

"I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

My eyes narrowed at her words. "You don't know anything about me, or my life, or my mom, or Luke, so why don't you try to advise someone else."

"I know Luke a lot more better than you!" She hissed. "So don't even try that."

"You're assuming that living with Luke is best for me." I grounded out through gritted teeth.

"And what if I am?" Sarah questioned, her fiery hazel eyes glowing. "You're right Jess, I don't know you nor do I claim to. Thinking back to yesterday, I'd say I was willing to get to know you better, and stupidly I still do. All I'm asking is for you to give this town a chance before you decide its a waste of time. Who knows? You actually might even start to like living here. So if we're done here, I'm hungry and I'm going to eat Sookie's food that she worked so hard to prepare for you!" She brushed pass me before hurriedly walking back into the house.

I raked my hand through my hair, now in desperate need of a cigarette. "Way to go Jess, way to piss off the only good thing in this goddamn town."

 _ **...**_

 ** _Sarah_**

I tried to ignore the small pang of hurt in my heart, as I moved into the kitchen. Whether Jess knew it or not, his dislike for this town was a huge shock to me. I've lived here my whole life, and sure it can get a little boring from time to time, but the people who live here is what makes its exciting to live in Stars Hollow. It hurt when Jess wasn't giving this town a chance, and what was more confusing was how much I cared about his opinion on this town.. and how much I wanted him to stay.

Taking my plate of food, I headed into the dinning area and sat next to Rory. I tried to act nonchalant when I noticed the curious glances coming from around the table. "What?"

"Where's Jess?" Luke asked.

"Outside." I gestured to the back door.

Both Luke and Lorelai rose up from their seats and headed to where Jess was. Rory was the only one who stayed and was still staring at me with questioning blue eyes. I stopped eating and looked at her with a sigh. "Yes Rory?"

"What happened? You were with Jess for awhile." She added the last part warily.

I smiled weakly at her. "Everything is fine. I swear."

Rory nodded in acceptance in but I could still she was curious about something.

"Is there something else you want to ask me Rory?"

"Why did you tell mom about Jess, but not me?"

I dropped my fork on my plate. "Rory, it wasn't like that. I didn't mean to keep him a secret from you, but I just met him yesterday and I didn't know if I was ever going to see him again."

"But this is a Stars Hollow, he can't hide from you forever."

A small laugh left me. "Mom said the same thing."

A loud slamming of a door startled both me and Rory out of our seats. "What's going on?

Rory shrugged in response before following me to where the ruckus was coming from. "Go find Jess!" Lorelai shouted as she walked back in the house with angry eyes.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Luke shouted back in response, but nonetheless went to find Jess.

I looked wide eyed at mom. "What just happened?"

Her response was a loud half groan half shout, before marching right upstairs and into her room.

Rory looked just as lost as I was.

"Tonight certainly went downhill."

 ** _..._**

 **LUKE'S DINER**

We were standing outside the diner, while my mother was standing there with an internal conflict about Luke, I was standing there with an empty stomach and the desire to eat Danishes on Danish day!

I groaned loudly. "Mom! You're being completely childish."

"Am not."

"Are too." Rory interjected.

Lorelai pouted in defense. I sighed at my mother's behavior. "So what? Are we never gonna go into Luke's again? We're just gonna starve?"

"Sarah, this was a bad one, okay? This was not Nick and Nora, this was Sid and Nancy, and I'm not going in there." Mom stood firmly by her words, but I saw her eyes straying to the Diner in front of us.

It was my turn to pout at her, I even widened my big hazel eyes for the puppy dog affect. "But the coffee is in there. And it's Danish Day. Are you seriously telling me that you're gonna let a stupid fight get in the way of Danish Day?"

"I taught you that look, and no. I'm not."

"You're being very stubborn about this." Rory pointed out.

Lorelai groaned at the both of us. "So go in there and order three coffees and three Danishes to go."

I gasped. "You're kidding, right?"

"And don't forget the napkins." She added.

"Mom, he's gonna know what's going on. Luke's not stupid."

Lorelai did not back down from her suggestion though. "He cannot prove that you're not ordering all that for yourself, can he?" She paused waiting for an answer from me, but I had none. "No, so go on. Scoot, scoot. Mommy's right here."

I looked over at Rory. "Rory, you better start getting to school. I'll see you there after I inform mom that her plan has epically failed."

My sister laugh before giving me a hug. "Thanks! I owe you one. See if you can bring me a cup of coffee!" She shouted behind her shoulder before heading to the bus stop.

"The things I do for you." I muttered loud enough for Lorelai to hear.

She simply stood there with her thumbs up and gestured for me to hurry up as I entered the "forbidden" diner.

 **[Inside Luke's Diner]**

I walked over to the counter once I saw Luke getting ready to take someone's order, I waited patiently for him to finish before smiling at the older man who I consider more as my father than my bio dad. "Hey Luke."

His eyebrows shot up when he heard me. "Sarah."

'Oh this is going to be awkward.' "I'll have three coffees and three cherry Danishes to go, please."

"Three coffees and three cherry Danishes?" He raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"O-oh, and some napkins.. please." I nervously added.

"One of these is for her isn't it?"

My hazel eyes shot wide eyed open at his correct assumption. "Who? Oh, no! They're all for me! The third one is for Rory. I am super hungry today. I was debating ordering four, but I'll tell you how I feel after two."

Luke didn't seem to buy it at all. "Tell you what, I'll give you one Danish and one cup of coffee, you can sit over there and eat, and when you're finished with them right over there where I can see you, then I'll bring you a second one."

"You're really just gonna stand there and watch me eat a Danish?" I said in slight shock.

He merely shrugged his shoulders. "Cable's out. I'm starved for entertainment."

I sighed in slight annoyance. "Okay, this is insane. So you guys had a fight, big deal. You know you two are going to make up anyway, and what better day to make up than Danish Day! The happiest of all days. The day when we all say, 'hey, let's forgive and forget over a nice Danish and a cup coffee.'"

"One Danish, one cup of coffee, take it or leave it." Luke said unblinkingly.

"I'll take it. I still think you both are being silly."

"Thank you for sharing. Now go to your usual seat and wait for your coffee and Danish." He gestured to the seat near the window.

"Yes sir." I mock saluted before moving to sit down.

Once I sat down, I set my bag beside me. I quietly waited for my cherry Danish patiently, however the silence around me didn't last when I heard a familiar voice speak. "Now this certainly is a sight to behold."

"Jess!" My head snapped up, only to look up into incredibly attractive brown eyes.

He winced from the sharpness of my voice. "And good morning to you too Sarah."

"Sorry.." I began to apologize but stopped when I remembered last night's events. "Oh wait, no, I take that back. I'm not sorry."

Jess sighed as he took the seat in front of me. "Don't tell me you're still upset over last night."

I looked away from him and focused my eyes on the table. "I don't know Jess, what do you think?"

"Look, I'm not very good with people.. or apologies." He admitted lowly, my eyes drifted back to him for him to continue. "But for what it's worth, I'm sorry about last night. I acted like a complete ass and I don't want to make you think I'm a jerk all the time."

"You're forgiven."

My heart melted at the sincerity of his words, I knew Jess wasn't the type of person to say something without meaning it. His words however, made me start to think about what exactly he meant. "What does it matter of what I think of you? You said you don't care about what anyone thinks of you."

"Thats the problem. I care about what you think of me."

His second admission made my cheeks reddened, to me it sounded like a cheesy romantic line from a book. To me it sounded so unlike Jess, even if I've only known him for a short amount of time. "Why?"

Jess looked a bit taken aback and confused himself. "I don't know..-" He paused with a quick lick of the lips. "Let me make it up to you." A crooked smirk now playing on the edge of his mouth. "I want to make up for the way I acted last night."

I felt a smile touch my own lips. "You're already forgiven Jess, you don't have to do anything special for me."

Jess chuckled while raking his fingers through his hair. There was part of me that ache to do that for him, but I reigned it in. "You're right, I don't have to but I want to. I'm not taking no for an answer."

I bit my bottom lip in thought, wondering what exactly Jess had up under his sleeves. "Okay. Say if I do say yes, how would you make it up to me?"

"Uh-" He scratched the back of his neck nervously, which I found quite endearing watching him squirm. "I hadn't actually planned on you saying yes."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Luke eyeing us with curiosity but my focus immediately darted to the cup of coffee in his hand and a bag with my Danish in his other hand. "Jess, if you're serious about making it up to me. I look forward to hearing about your plan later." I rose up from my seat with my school bag at hand. "Right now I need to get to school."

"Wait." Jess grabbed my hand before I could walk past him.

"Yes?"

I waited for a moment, but he had look to be contemplating something on his mind. "I'll see you later." He blurted out instead.

For some strange reason, I don't think this is what he wanted to tell me, but I wouldn't force Jess to talk to me about it if he didn't want to. I wasn't going to pry in his mind for information.

At this moment, I knew Jess wasn't simply just another guy, he was more than that and I wasn't exactly sure why. There was no doubt in my mind that I shared a connection with him, but whether I wanted to explore or not was still the question. 'Time to find out Sarah..'

For the first time in my life, I decided to do something bold. Moving my face closer to Jess, I lean down and press a small shy kiss against his cheek. My lips tingled at the skin to skin contact, but the tingly sensation came with a pleasant warmth that filled me endlessly. "I'm holding you to that."

I didn't stick around to see Jess' face, knowing my face was practically burning hot from what I've just done. The shock on Luke's face was pretty amusing when I grabbed my food from his hands and quickly left the diner. Not before shouting a quick "Thank you Luke!" to him over my shoulder.

 **[Outside Luke's Diner]**

My eyes scanned the area easily when I spotted my mom leaning against her car. I sped up my walking pace, finally reaching her. Lifting the hot cup of coffee to my lips, I take a sip of the warm liquid welcoming it down my throat. I needed the caffeine to energize me for my day at school.

"Well? That certainly took awhile." Lorelai said when I finally reached her.

I gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry mom, Luke would only sell me one of each if I stayed there for my order."

"Ugh! Didn't you say they were all for you?"

"Yes I did, and he knew I was lying."

"Did you do the blinky thing? You always do the blinky thing when you're lying." She pointed out.

"I didn't have to do the blinky thing. He knows you well enough to know that you're not gonna go a whole day with no coffee and especially no Danish." I stated before taking another sip of my delicious coffee.

"Ugh!"

I sighed, becoming exasperated with both Lorelai's and Luke's behavior. "Why don't you go in there now and just make up?"

"Why don't you give me half your Danish and some coffee?" She evaded the question instead.

"I'll give you the Danish but I'm keeping the coffee." I tried to compromise with and handed her my Danish.

Lorelai groaned. "What is a Danish without coffee?"

"The eternal question springs up again."

"There's no point in even eating a Danish without coffee." She pouted, whilst trying to use the same puppy dog face I used earlier.

"Then you're going to have to work things out with Luke. I, on the other hand better head to school before I'm late." I said as I turned to walk to the bus stop.

Lorelai however, wasn't done moping about Danish day. "Sad Danish, lonely Danish, step Danish."

I breathed a small laugh. "I'll see you tonight!"

Before mom could stop me, I was already on my way to the bus stop. Relief instantly filling my system. I really didn't want to be caught in between her and Luke, this was something only the two of them could resolve.

 ** _..._**

 **CHILTON PREPARATORY SCHOOL**

"I can't believe you actually have to interview Mr. Medina, isn't it going to be super awkward between the two of you?" I voiced, while I shoved some of my books into my locker.

Rory groaned. "You have no idea, the whole day I've been wondering how am I supposed to walk into his class, and act casual knowing he dated mom."

"Ugh, don't make me think about it too. Now I have an image of them kissing!" I yelped. "Oh god! It burns."

"Sarah, this is serious!"

I turned to face her. "Okay, okay. Calm down. I'm sure interviewing him won't be as bad as you think. Sure it will be awkward at first, but it won't be like the guy is holding a serious grudge against you."

Her blue eyes widened in a panic. "You think he'll hold a grudge against me?"

"Have you paid attention to anything I've said? I said he wouldn't hold a grudge against you." I sighed. "Rory what's going on? You're usually so calm and collected when it comes to your journalism for the school newspaper."

"I know! It's just, Paris has actually started to act decent towards me since she handed me this assignment and I don't want to ruin what the newspaper team has worked so hard for." Rory rambled on nervously.

"Hey." I placed both my hands on her shoulders. "There's no need to be nervous about this interview. They chose you to be on the school's newspaper for a reason, and that reason is because your a great journalist with a whole lot of potential." Her cheeks reddened at my compliment.

"Sarah.."

"I'm serious Rory. Just do what you do best during the interview and everything will be fine. I promise." I smiled at her and quickly pulled her into hug which she gladly returned.

"Thanks Sarah." She whispered into my hair.

"You're welcome. Now go get that interview and show your school mates what you're made of as a journalist!" I ushered her towards Mr. Medina's classroom.

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" She shouted as she began to walk herself to his class.

"I'm looking forward to reading you're report in the school's newspaper!" I shouted proudly at her, ignoring the strange looks from my fellow classmates.

"Will do!"

"Good luck Rory." I smiled at the new sense of confidence my sister was now radiating, if there was one thing Rory could count on me for, its being able to give advice when its needed. Turning back to my locker, I looked at the picture hanging in my locker. It was of me and Rory on our first day in Chilton, Rory was so nervous. You could tell by her overly nervous smile in the photo. Lorelai was begging for Rory to keep still so she could take the photo. 'That was taken over a year ago..'

With a heavy sigh, I took out my books and stuffed them into my bag before sealing it shut afterwards.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Jess_**

 **STARS HOLLOW HIGH SCHOOL**

'Finally!'

Once I heard the bell, I quickly marched out of school without any care in the world. I need to get out that hell hole and go straight home. At least there I could read in peace and at least sort out some way I can make it up to a certain Gilmore girl. My mind instantly reeled back to the this morning to Sarah pressing her lips against my cheek, granted it was on my cheek, it still was something I've never experienced before. The feeling of warm her lips against my mind was permanently sealed into my memory.

'Oh great, I'm starting to sound cheesy.' I mentally chastised myself.

I was interrupted in my musings when opening my book, when I heard a familiar voice coming from behind me. "Hey. How was school?" I swiveled around to find Luke marching behind me.

"Great." I answered dryly.

"You learn anything good?"

I didn't bother to bite back a scoff. "Oh yeah, tons of things. I've got gold stars plastered all over my forehead."

Luke didn't look amused one bit. "I had an interesting call today. Wanna know who it was from?"

"Not really." I shrugged while quickening my pace.

"It was from Taylor Doose, you know he owns the market."

"And what does this have to do with me?"

"He said you came in today." Luke said with a blank face.

"He did?"

Luke crossed his arms as he watched for any reactions from me. "And he said you took some money out of a little donation cup to help repair the bridge. I told him he was crazy, you wouldn't do that, you weren't a thief, that he was just trying to start trouble, then I hung up on him. But don't get me wrong, I enjoy hanging up on Taylor, and he is crazy, but I was just wondering if maybe any of the other things he said were true."

My jaw began to tick in annoyance. "What do you think?" I asked whilst picking up the pace of my walking.

"I think that if you tell me that what he's saying is not true, then I'm gonna believe it's not true."

"Okay, it's not true." Was all I said before hurrying my steps.

Luke grabbed my shoulder to stop me from walking any further. "That doesn't sound very convincing."

Angrily spinning around, I face him with a growing resentment. Not just for him, but for Liz, for forcing me to move here, to go to this school. "Look, what exactly do you want from me? You bring me here to this place, you put me in a school that says the Pledge of Allegiance in six different languages, two of which I've never heard of before. You take me away from my home, my friends, and now you want what from me?"

"I'm trying to help you." He argued.

"Well, stop trying. Stop talking to me, stop following me, and stop asking me questions. Just stop." I argued back harshly.

"That's what you want?" Luke shouted

"Yes!" I shouted back

"That's really what you want?"

"Yes!"

"Fine, you got it."

"Thank you." I grounded out through gritted teeth.

"You're welcome." He said as we both walked briskly over the bridge.

What I hadn't count on was for Luke to push me off the bridge and into the lake. 'Fuck!' I mentally screamed when my body came in contact with the cool water. My clothes was drenched when I rose above the surface to get gulps of air.

"What the hell!" I sputter out in disbelief, but Luke was either too far gone to hear or was purposely ignoring me. It was probably the latter of the two.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Sarah_**

 **THE GILMORE GIRLS RESIDENCE [Kitchen]**

"How's the article coming along?" I asked Rory with a mouthful of vanilla ice cream, watching her work on her assignment on the kitchen table.

Rory laughed at my silly antics. "It's actually went great. Mr. Medina answers all questions willing, and there was almost no awkwardness during his interview. He even let me call him Max."

"He has you calling him Max already?" I joked. "See, I told you Rory. You had nothing to worry about." Placing my now empty bowl of ice cream into the kitchen sink before sitting right in front of her."

"I know. You were right." She acknowledged in defeat while I smiled victoriously at my blue eyed sister.

"Sarah? Rory?" I hear mom call our names from the doorway.

"In the kitchen mom!"

Lorelai marches into the kitchen with a sad expression as she grabs a bag of coffee from the cupboard. "Nowhere in either Stars Hollow or it's surrounding counties can you get a decent cup of coffee. I swear, it's like a big stupid coffee conspiracy."

"Why don't you just pour the water right into the bag?" I suggested.

She guffawed. "Oh, you jest, but believe me, the thought has crossed my mind. It's looking better and better all the time." She passed when she saw Rory getting up from her seat. "Where are you going? I'm not through complaining."

"I just have to get some more notes I need."

"Hm. What's this?" Lorelai interestedly enough asked.

Rory however, still looked clueless. "What?"

She pointed to the papers in Rory's hand. "This that you're working on?

"Oh, that's Rory's interview with Max." I tease while dragging on Mr. Medina's first name.

Lorelai's eyes shot up in surprise. "Max, as in your teacher Max? What interview with Max?"

I bit my bottom lip guilty when I noticed the angry glare Rory sent me. "The paper wanted Rory to do a piece on the student's favorite teacher from the previous year and Paris assigned it to Rory when she caught wind of the fact that.. you used to go with Max." I explained.

"Wow, nice kid that Paris." She muttered sarcastically.

"We know." Both Rory and I said simultaneously.

"Yeah. The interview wasn't that bad though." Rory stated with a small smile.

"No?"

My sister shook her head. "No. It was actually good. It gave us a chance to talk about some things."

"Well good." Mom took one sheet of paper that Rory was currently working on with all the factual evidence of her interview with Mr. Medina and information he had given. Lorelai began reading her work with great interests, I knew mom was very proud of Lorelai's journalism.

"Yeah, it was good." She paused in realization. "Well, I'm gonna buy a folder for it before the store closes."

"Oh, I'll come with. I need to get some new books anyway." I stated as I put on my thin white sweater over my regular clothes which consisted of a simple mid-length red sundress, and for footwear I wore dark brown lace-up boots that reached my calves nicely.

"Sure."

"Okay. You have some good writing here, missy." Lorelai complimented Rory's writing when finished reading.

"Yeah?"

"Really good."

"I told you it's good Rory." I agreed.

Rory glanced bashfully at us. "It's not quite up to the re-paving piece yet but I'll get it there."

Lorelai hummed in satisfaction. "Hmm. Boy, he sounds like a hell of a guy, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he does." She nodded in agreement before walking to the front door.

Mom them turned to face me. "I sure know how to dump 'em, don't I?"

"Oh mom, I really don't want to hear about your past dating experience with my teacher." I said in a rushed sentence as I hurried to follow Rory.

"Hey!"

I opened the front door only to see Luke standing there unsurely with his hand ready to knock. "Luke?"

"Uh-" he cleared his throat. "Hi Sarah, is Lorelai in there?"

"Yes she is." I answered him. "Come in." I opened the door a bit wider for him and watched as he briskly walked further inside. "I'll be going now."

"Okay."

I was about to leave but stopped to look at him. "Luke? Try to resolve things with my mom. She's been dying for a cup of coffee."

"You got it kiddo." The sound of his chuckles filled my ears before I left the house.

Hopefully mom and Luke could use this chance to work out things between them, they needed it, and my mom was in desperate need of a good cup of coffee.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Jess_**

 **LUKE'S DINER [LUKE'S APARTMENT]**

I took a long drag of my cigarette after the insanely long day I had. When I got back to Luke's apartment, I had to take a shower and put on a fresh set of dry clothes. Unfortunately for me, my dearest uncle ruined any semblance of peace when he barged into my room. When he was in my line of vision, I noticed a white pharmaceutical bag in his hand.

Raising a curious brow, I watched Luke warily. "Okay, we got the patch, the gum, hypnosis tapes, herbs, self-help books-" He listed each item while throwing them onto the bed. ".. and several pictures of diseased lungs to hang on the fridge. Pretty, huh?" In his hand I saw pictures of a black lung filled with smoke in his hand. "This is done." He orders as he yanks my cigarette out of my mouth and throws it out the open window.

"Hey!" I shouted in both irritation and disbelief.

Luke wasn't done there. "You will get up, you will go to school, you will come home, you will work in the diner until closing, you will do your homework and then you will go to bed. Now where's the gnome?"

"The what?"

"The weekends are for chores and selected pre-approved outings, i.e. cavalla studies, freeway beautification projects, Color Me Mine pottery painting, all discussible options. You will not steal, you will pay back Taylor Doose, you will graduate for high school, and you will return Pierpont to his yard." He order me.

I gaped at the man standing in front of me. "You can't just..!"

Luke simply smirked. "I can just. I am not letting you just fall off the face of the earth. You will not drift, I won't let it happen. Now I don't know if this is the right way to handle this, but this is the way it's being handled, and that my friend, is the end of this discussion."

I got up from my bed and walked to the as I put on my jacket. "Where are you going?"

"Out." I stated, not even bothering to look back.

"Well, at least I asked."

 _ **...**_

 **STARS HOLLOW**

"Where the hell am I?" I asked to no one particular as I found myself in the middle of Stars Hollow. I didn't care much, since I needed a break from Luke and moving here was just adding fuel to the flames. It was starting to grate on my shoulders, especially being under the watchful eyes of my dearest uncle.

My ears picked up a familiar laugh and my eyes darted to where the sound came from. I felt my a smirk coming on when I saw Sarah and her sister Rory walking side by side. Sarah looked beautiful in her casual wear when she wasn't wearing her school girl uniform, but I'm pretty sure she'd look great in anything even if it was a brown paper bag.

I walked down the street and caught up to her, once her hazel eyes registered me, I give her a small smirk. "Hey."

Sarah lips turn into a radiant smile at the sight of me. "Hey Jess."

"Uh..-" Rory stood there awkwardly, her own blue eyes darting back and forward between the two of us. "I'll just go see if Dean's not busy. I'll leave the two of you alone."

"You sure?" Sarah questioned hesitantly.

She nodded. "Don't worry about me, I'll see you at home."

Sarah smiled at Rory as she watched her leave to the nearest phone booth.

I cleared my throat to garner her attention back on me. "What are you doing out here?"

"Rory needed some things for school. I decided to tag along to check out the bookstore." She paused and tilted her head at me. "What about you?"

"Oh yeah, same thing."

Sarah didn't buy it. "Can't say I believe that." I chucked at her correct assumption. "So, that was quite a disappearing act you pulled the other night after our little chat."

I shrugged. "Potlucks and Tupperware parties aren't really my thing."

"Too cool for school, huh?" She teased me.

"Yes, that is me." I agreed jokingly. I then, lean downwards towards her and gently brush away strands of hair from her face. I saw her slightly shudder against my touch, and I tried to ignore the swell satisfaction welling up inside me. The smirk on my face reveled it all.

"W-what are you doing?" Sarah stammered with pink cheeks.

"Oh this? Nothing." I grinned inwardly as I remove a coin from the back of her ear, where I brushed away the strands of hair covering her face. "Just another little disappearing act."

She gave a quiet laugh. "Well I applaud you for your magical efforts."

"So what are you doing now?" I asked as we both starting to walked together, I did noticed she moved a bit closer to me, but I had resisted the urge to pull her against me. The memory of her body pressed up close to me was still very much fresh in my mind.

"Nothing really. I was planning to read a bit more before going home."

"Okay, then I'll leave you this last little trick." As soon I said this, I reached into my back pocket and pulled out her copy of "Howl".

Her hazel eyes snapped up to my brown ones as she smiled happily at the book in my hands. "You finished reading it?"

I smirked. "I did promise you I'd give it back to you right after I finished it."

"Okay, that's not called a trick, that's called a felony, but a harmless one at best." The smile on her face grew when she held the book in her own hands and hugged it close to her chest.

"I just wanted to put some notes in the margins for you." I admitted.

"What?" She looked flabbergasted at this, and quickly flips open the book where she sees my hand writing nearly scrawled in the margins. "You've read this before." Sarah stated in disbelief, looking up at me with those big hazel eyes in complete awe.

"About forty times." I corrected her with slight amusement covering my tone.

"I thought you said you didn't read much."

"Well, what is much?" I answered with an innocent shrug.

"You truly are something else Jess." Sarah stated in pleasant shock.

"I'm just full of surprises." I echoed her from the first time we met.

She threw her head back in laughter. "For some reason I believe you."

Cocking my head to the side, I look at the beautiful girl in front me with interests. I remembered my words from this morning, and promised her I would make up for being a jerk last night and I would follow through with my promise. An idea popped into my mind, that I knew would benefit the both of us.

"I still have to make up for last night." I say slyly as I reach for her hand. "And you said you would hold me to that, after you kissed me that is."

Her cheeks reddened by the contact, but I soon feel her hand squeeze mine in a welcoming response. "It was just a kiss on the cheek, I mean you don't have to-"

I quickly cut her off. "I still want to make it up to you."

"How?"

Moving my face down closer to hers, I give her an easy smirk. "You'll find out soon enough."

Sarah's cheeks were now inflamed but the smile on her lips was what really blew me away. "I'm looking forward to it." her hands slipped away from my grasp and she turned away to leave the same way her sister went.

But before she could walk further away, I grabbed her hand and spun her around to face me. "Jess?" She looked up at me, confusion clouding her features.

Leaning down, I let my lips hover against her cheek before pressing a kiss against the incredibly soft skin. I made sure my lips left a searing imprint against her now red cheek. 'Hopefully this will be on her mind all night.' I thought selfishly.

"Goodnight Sarah." I said after I pulled back away from her. I could see it in those rich hazel eyes that she didn't want me to stop, and for some reason that bit of info sent my blood into overdrive as I craved to touch her beautiful soft skin.

The blush in her cheeks had remained, but so did her smile. "Goodnight Dodger." She whispered loud enough for me to hear.

I looked at confused at the nickname. "Dodger?"

Sarah smiled mysteriously as she walked away. "Figure it out."

My eyebrows furrowed deep in thought, as I tried to find any recollection of that name. A small smirk appeared on my face as I recalled the name from one of my favorite books. "Oliver Twist." I shout my answer to her.

Sarah turned around, her hazel eyes lighting up at my answer. "You got it."

"I'll call you." I say easily enough.

"I'm counting on it!" She shouted back from over her shoulder as she drifted further down the street.

Since coming here, I felt a real small smile touch my lips for the first time in years, and it never wavered thanks to a certain brunette who goes by the name of Sarah Gilmore. I started to make my way back to Luke's before he starts worrying and decides to go looking for me.

For the first time since being here, I was actually looking forward to living in Stars Hollow.

 _The static of your arms, it is the catalyst_

 _You're a chemical that burns there's nothing like this_

 _It's the purest element and it's so volatile_

 _An equation heaven sent, a drug for angels_

 _Feel it on me love_

 _Feel it on me love_

 _Feel it on me love_

 _(Strangeness and Charm)_

 _See it on me love_

 _See it on me love_

 _See it on me love_

 _(Strangeness and Charm)_

 _Feel it on me love_

 _Feel it on me love_

 _Feel it on me love_

 _(Strangeness and Charm)_

 _See it on me love_

 _See it on me love_

 _See it on me love_

 _(Strangeness and Charm)_


	2. The Secret First Kiss

**_Chapter Two: The Secret First Kiss_**

 ** _The cast of Gilmore Girls: Kiss me in The Meadows_**

 ** _Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano_**

 ** _Dianna Agron as Sarah Gilmore_**

 ** _Alexis Bledal as Rory Gilmore_**

 ** _Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore_**

 ** _Scott Patterson as Luke Danes_**

 ** _Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James_**

 ** _Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore_**

 ** _Edward Herrmann as Richard Gilmore_**

 _ **Prologue:**_ _Meet the beautiful Sarah Gilmore, daughter of Lorelai Gilmore and sister to Rory Gilmore. Sarah is the sweetheart of Stars Hollow along with her sister, but when Sarah meets Jess the intelligent bad boy, things quickly heat up between the two and love ensues. What happens when these two people from two different worlds fall in love?_ _Sparks fly and people fall in love, but is love enough for them to overcome those against them?_

 _ **The love story of the Rebel and the Princess.**_

 _Theme song for Episode two of Kiss me in The Meadows: Secrets by ONEREPUBLIC_

* * *

 _Tell me what you want to hear_

 _Something that will light those ears_

 _Sick of all the insincere_

 _So I'm gonna give all my secrets away!_

 _This time don't need another perfect lie_

 _Don't care if critics ever jump in line_

 _I'm gonna give all my secrets away!_

 ** _Sarah_**

 **THE ELDER GILMORE RESIDENCE [Dining Room]**

"How's the meal?" Grandma asked me as she directed her fork over to my nearly empty plate.

I give her a satisfied smile. "It's really good."

"Tasty." Rory added she munched happily on her food.

Lorelai nodded. "Very tasty. New cook?"

Grandma gave Mom a polite smile. "Yes, Marcella. She's introduced us to some wonderful dishes so charmingly specific to her native country."

"What country is she from?" I asked as I grabbed another spoon full of the strange sea food.

"One of those little ones next to Mexico."

Mom rolled her eyes at the answer. "How charmingly specific."

The sarcasm wasn't lost on Grandma, in fact her mouth opened to give mom a smart retort. I quickly decided to change the subject. "Its too bad Grandpa's not here. He likes weird food, I would've assumed he would like this as well."

"Yeah, where's he eating his weird food tonight? Argentina? Morocco?" Lorelai questioned after taking another bite off her plate.

"Akron."

"Ohio?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

Lorelai gasped in shock. "Get out of here."

Grandma looked both confused and angry when mom said that. "I will not get out of here."

"No Mom, I didn't mean really get out of here, I mean.."

I quickly cut Lorelai off. "Its a saying grandma, she did not mean it personally."

"Oh.." Grandma still looked quite dazed at today's use of lingo. I saw mom send me a thankful smile while mouthing the words 'Thank you.'

'No problem.' I mouthed back to her before turning back to grandma. "Why is Grandpa in Akron?"

"I don't know." She stated in a small voice.

"It was just a saying, like Sarah said." Lorelai randomly added.

Grandma simply continued. "They sent him to deal with some problem with their local office down there."

"A saying, you know, like 'save me' or 'get me out of here'. Things like that." Mom again unhelpfully added to the conversation.

This time around, grandma didn't simply ignore it and turned to look at mom in a rather frustratingly manner. "Lorelai, would you like me to put a mirror in front of you so you can look at yourself while you have this conversation?"

"Sorry, Dad's in Akron." She pouted like a kicked puppy.

Grandma Emily sighed before picking up where she left off. "Yes. The amenities are atrociously lacking. He had to eat at a coffee shop last night. The whole thing's terribly insulting. He's miserable."

"I hate that he's miserable." Rory said with a tone of concern.

I nodded in agreement with my sister. "Me too, but if I know grandpa, he will pull through."

"So do I." Grandma paused in mid-thought. "We really ought to do something."

"Yes, I agree." Rory immediately agreed.

"Rory!" I hissed, kicking her under the table. I saw her wince in the seat in front of me but thankfully grandma Emily did not notice or detected any of my "unladylike" manners.

"Warning, warning." Lorelai began lowly, and I found myself agreeing with her. It was bad enough Rory agreed for the both of us.

Emily sent Rory a smile that sent chills down my spine. "I'm glad to hear you say that Rory, because I thought of a wonderful way to cheer him up."

"Cool, what?"

"Danger, Will Robinson, danger!" Lorelai shouted with flailing limbs.

"An oil portrait of you and Sarah for his study." She answered excitedly.

My eyes grew wide eyes as saucers. "What!"

"An oil portrait." Rory echoed unsurely.

Mom sighed loudly in defeat. "I tried, have fun."

"Oh Sarah, think about it. It could hang right over his mantle. He'd just love it." Grandma exclaimed, I could tell she was already planning about the portraits.

Rory shoulder sagged a bit, since she knew we couldn't walk out on this. "Well, I guess that would be okay."

"What about you Sarah?"

I tried to smile and barely managed to nod my consent. "I-I'm happy to do it for grandpa." I stammered. I kept repeating 'Do this for grandpa, do this for grandpa..' in my head like a mantra. Trying to remind myself or more like convince myself that I wasn't just doing it only for grandma's benefit.

Lorelai sighed unhappily. "Oh Mom, please, don't make them do this."

"Both of them said they would."

Mom groaned in response. "Fine, paint the picture, but don't make her sit and pose for it. Paint it from a photo."

"A photo?" Grandma sounded insulted. "That's what they do at malls."

"We'll sit, it's fine." Rory once again spoke for us. I shot her a glare but she managed to avoid it by looking strictly at her plate.

Emily frowned. "Just because your own experience sitting for a portrait was bad doesn't mean Rory's has to be."

I turned to Lorelai. "What portrait? I haven't seen this."

"They never finished." She simply answered.

Grandma glared at my mother whilst still frowning. "Three painters started, and they all three quit."

"Why did they quit?"

If I hadn't have seen it, I wouldn't thought it was impossible to frown even more. "She wouldn't stop scowling." Emily answered, I'm pretty sure I could detect a hint of annoyance coloring her tone.

"I was going for a Billy Idol thing." Lorelai defended.

Grandma sighed in exasperation. "The one from Italy had some sort of breakdown."

"Oh my God." Rory exclaimed in shock.

"Wow mom, you must've drove him crazy." I said in disbelief.

Lorelai looked embarrassed, and that was usually a rare sight to see. "Hey, it didn't hurt Van Gogh, the guy should thank me."

"Poor man. A year later, I swear I saw him rummaging through our recyclables." I gaped at my mom as Emily continued to chastise mom for her rebelliousness against sitting still.

Rory decided to turn this into a lighter note. "Well, I'm happy to sit. If it's for Grandpa, why not?"

"Of course you would agree for the both of us again." I mumbled. "If it's for grandpa, it shouldn't be too horrible." I spoke a bit louder. It was official, right after we got home, I was going to smother Rory with my pillow.

Emily clapped her hands as she looked at both me and Rory. "Wonderful. I'll set it up first thing in the morning."

I nodded and finished drinking the last of my water. However I stopped paying attention to grandpa when I heard a sound coming from beside me. "Psst." I ignored the sound the first time, but the second time was hard to ignore when I felt Lorelai's foot hit my calve.

I hissed in pain and looked to see my mother wearing an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but if you want, I can teach you the Billy Idol. Most people focus on the lip thing, but the eyes are just as import-"

Emily slams one the salt shakers on the table, forcing me and mom to jump apart in shock. "Sorry!" We both shout simultaneously. When she turns away from us, both me and Lorelai burst into a fit of giggles before barely managing to contain our laughter while Rory looked simply amused.

 ** _..._**

 **LUKE'S DINER**

My cup was now empty and I needed another dose of coffee. I turned to beside me and watched at Luke and Lorelai coming up with some kind of business plan, which I'm assuming is really important. I was alone with mom today, since Rory decided to go on a school trip to Hartford museum. I decided to be left behind since I wasn't all that interested and have already been to the museum with grandma against my will.

Looking down on my casual apparel, I wore a lacy white short sleeved shirt with tight blue jeans and dark brown boots on my feet. On top, I wore a dark red drawstring cotton trench coat, surprisingly the fabric of my coat fought back against the chilly weather of today. My hair was left out in its usual long glory, except I wore a red head band to keep my hair from hitting my face in this windy weather.

"So, the first thing you and Sookie would do is incorporate." Luke informed.

Lorelai eyes widened a bit. "Wow. Sounds so big time."

He shrugged. "Not really. It just means you're a single business entity. You'll both be officers and shareholders, and you'll get to make up a name for your company and everything."

"Mmm, I'm terrible at coming up with names. When we first bought our house, Rory and I wanted to name it, you know, like Jefferson named his place Monticello, but all we could come up with is The Crap Shack." Mom added the last part with a small joke.

Luke chuckled. "Nice."

My attention was diverted when I saw Jess holding a coffee pot in his hand, but his usual crooked smirk wasn't there, instead his lips were pressed into a straight line. It wasn't long before I realized I was staring unabashedly at him. My cheeks instantly warmed when his brown eyes sought out mine, the crooked smirk quickly returning to his face. The blush on my face deepens when I realized he caught me staring at him.

Jess walks smoothly over our table, his eyes never straying from mine. "Coffee?" He offered casually, but I could tell it was an excuse to talk to me. I really didn't have a problem with it.

"Oh, yeah, thanks." I jumped slightly in my chair when I heard Lorelai's voice. I was so absorbed in our staring contest that I forgot my own mother was sitting right beside me! "How are you Jess?"

He shrugged in his usual uncaring fashion. "Well, I'm not bleeding or anything."

"Well, then it's gonna be a good day, huh?" Mom joked.

"Yeah." Jess looked at me. "Sarah."

"Jess." I mimicked. While I desperately tried to ignore the strange looks we were receiving from both Luke and Lorelai.

His eyes were looking straight into mine. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Usually you would be correct, but in this case.. no." Jess waited for an explanation. "My school is going on a trip to a museum nearby Hartford, I wasn't interested in going and decided to stick around. Satisfied?"

"Very." He smirked. "Coffee?" The coffeepot in his hand looked extremely tempting.

"I'd love some." I said with a smile playing on my lips.

Jess poured the coffee into my cup, and instantly I was back enjoying the sweet bitter ecstasy of coffee. I moaned softly as I downed the bitter liquid, but maybe that was a bad idea since I saw Jess' eyes significantly darkened when he heard me. The flush in my cheeks were burning hot under his beady gaze.

He must've realized he was staring at me, and quickly cleared his throat before swiveling his attention on Luke. "It's 7:45."

"So?" Luke grumbled out.

Jess raised a brow at his uncle. "So do you want me to go to school or do you want to openly defy child labor laws?" He sarcastically questions.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Go. Stay out of trouble."

"Guess that means calling off the chickie run down at the salt flax." Jess smirks while putting the coffeepot on the diner's counter before pulling his jacket on. I noticed he didn't have a book-bag in his hands, which made me suspect that he wasn't really planning on going to school.

"Out." He pointed to the door.

When Jess began to leave the diner, I rose up from my seat. Lorelai gave me a questioning gaze as to why I had moved. "Mom, I just remembered I have to go run some errands."

"Really? What errands?" She looked suspicious at me.

I bit my bottom lip. "I have to go to the bookstore and then visit the record store in Hartford. Today, I hear they're holding a buy one get one 50% off."

Thankfully, Lorelai seemed to have bought it. "Ooh! You better go! Remember to come back home later-"

"I'll see you at home!" I cut her off with a kiss on the cheek before following Jess.

 ** _..._**

 **OUTSIDE LUKE'S DINER**

Running after Jess was a lot harder than I originally thought. Fortunately for me, I caught Jess walking further away from the bus stop which confirmed my suspicions of him playing hooky today. Once I was closer to him, I leaned in close to him with a small smile. "You know, school's the other way."

Jess' body jolted a bit in surprise, before he turned to look at me. "I must've forgotten then. Too bad."

"Jess, be honest. You weren't planning on going to school today." I stated it as if it was a fact.

He held both his hands up in surrender. "Alright you got me. Happy? I have better things to do than go to that hell hole."

"Really? Like what?"

"Read."

"Read? I'm pretty sure you do that anyway in school." I laughed, whilst turning away from him. "But if you plan to spend your whole day reading, I better leave you to it so I won't distract you."

I was planning to walk back to the diner when I felt his hand wrap around my wrist and spun me around to face him. "Wait. You followed me out of Luke's.. why?"

"I don't know?" I stammered with red cheeks. I mentally cursed myself for letting Jess have this type of affect on me.

Jess smirked, his dark chocolate brown eyes lighting up. "I think you do know." He dragged out each word while leaning closed to me.

"And I think your ego is already big enough, no need to make it even bigger when you already know the answer." I teased.

"Ouch." He grasped at his shirt. "I'm not that shallow."

"I beg to differ." I grin up at him.

"Huh."

"Now if you could please let go of my arm, I have a bookstore to get to." I said while trying to remove his hold on my wrist. I was surprised at how strong he was, but I knew he was only using only a fraction of his strength.

"Wait." Jess stopped me from squirming. "I have an idea."

I looked up at him, noting the mischievous glint in his eyes. 'Oh no..' "Jess?"

"Do you trust me?" He suddenly asked me.

I was taken aback by his question, my own eyes widening in shock by his serious tone. "Jess-"

He groaned. "Do you trust me or not?" Jess repeated.

Thinking back to last week, where I first met Jess I had thought back to our multiple encounters. The secret glances we gave each other when no one was looking, the brushing of the fingertips when he would reach for my hand or pour me a smooth cup of rich coffee, the staring when both of us were in the same room. There was no doubt in my mind that me and Jess shared a connection of the electrical kind. It did scare me at first, but the more I thought of being with Jess in a romantic sense..

The more excited I became.

Over the short time I have known Jess, I have given him my trust whether I knew it or not. He had yet to prove me wrong, and lets face it.. I have fun with Jess, whether it's when we talk about books or when Jess tries to pry into my personal life.

'There's just something about Jess..'

Now I knew I could be painfully oblivious sometimes, but I was at least 75% sure that Jess felt something for me. I think mom was starting notice how differently Jess treated me compared to the rest of Stars Hollow.

I knew Lorelai wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Jess, but I assumed she put up with him, mostly because she has a sneaking suspicion of my feelings for the intelligent hoodlum from New York, as my mom likes to delicately phrase it. 'Well she isn't exactly wrong..' I mentally added.

I was so deep into my thoughts, I hadn't realized I was just standing there until I saw Jess wave his hands in front of my face. "Hey, still there?"

"Yes." I breathed.

"You sure? You looked pretty out of it-"

I cut him off with a small amused laugh. "No. I meant yes as in yes.. I trust you."

Jess mouth formed into his usual crooked smirk. "Good to know." he stated before pulling me along after him. "Now come on."

And before I knew it we were running like maniacs around Stars Hollow, passerby's giving us strange looks. "Jess! Where are we going? You're going to yank my arm off!" I yelped when I ran into his back.

He chuckled when facing me. "You'll just have to find out when we get there."

"I am not going anywhere until you tell me where we're going." I said with feet planted firmly to the ground.

Jess smirk never wavered. "It wouldn't be much of a secret if I told you."

"Jess.." I pleaded with big blue eyes which I knew he couldn't resist.

At first he tried to fight it, slowly but surely I began to notice his resistance weaken, and soon enough I saw his shoulders drop in defeat. Jess gave a silent groan. "Fine! I won't tell you where we're going-"

I opened my mouth to object but he quickly covered his hand over my mouth, affectingly silencing me.

"But I will tell you what I'm doing." I looked up at him confused. "I'm making it up to you." He answered cryptically.

Instead of thinking logically, for once in my life I wanted to do something spontaneous and exciting. That was something Jess was good at, simply living in the moment, no questions asked.

I shoved the logical part of my brain to the back of my mind and instead gave into what my heart wanted. "Lead on.." I whispered loud enough for him to hear, when I removed his hand from my lips.

I hadn't removed his hand from my grasp just yet, when I felt him strengthen his hold on my hand. "Trust me." Jess whispered as we both carried on walking to his secret location.

And shamelessly I did. I trusted Jess.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Jess_**

 **STARS HOLLOW BRIDGE**

"Here we are." I announced when we finally go the bridge. Sarah's hand was still tangled with mine and admittedly it felt right. 'Great, now I'm starting to sound like a huge sap.' I chastised myself.

Sarah looked amusedly at me. "The bridge? This is your special secret hideout."

"Hey, don't judge. I come here a lot to read." I defended as we walked onto the bridge.

"It's nice. Quiet and calm." Sarah smiled. "Me and Rory used to come here all the time as kids.. usually to read. It was the perfect spot."

"Why did you stop coming here?" I sat down and gestured to the spot next to me. Sarah sat next to me and sent me a thankful smile my way.

"I don't know." She answered after a moment of silence. "One day we just stopped. Maybe because life at Chilton got in the way."

"Maybe."

Sarah sighed in content. "Well this is still perfect."

"Almost." I say cryptically. She looked up at me with confused hazel eyes. Without saying anything more, I reach forward and pull out her annoying hairband, letting her long locks flow freely. "Now its perfect." I saw a pink blush coloring her cheeks.

"Thanks." I heard her whisper in response.

The girl next to me took me by surprise when she laid her head on my shoulder, but I welcomed the light extra weight on me. It actually felt nice, not constricting at all. I wasn't used to being this close to a girl without them trying to stick they're tongue down my throat.

Sarah was different, and admittedly I liked it. I have felt more with Sarah than just any other girl who has tried to shove they're hand down my pants. I was content in just sitting here with the hazel eyed beauty in my arms.

"I like coming here."

"A place you actually like in Stars Hollow? I'm shocked." Sarah murmured into my shoulder.

I chuckled. "Don't get used to it."

She laughed. "Trust me, I won't. I'll savor these little moments." Sarah got up from my arms and stood up from the bridge. I looked at her questioningly when she held her hand out.

"What?"

"Come on. Don't be a chicken." She teased. "You showed me your secret spot, now I'll show you mine."

"But we just got here." I tried to pout at her but I'm sure it looked more like a grimace.

Sarah flashes me with a smile. "Jess, trust me. You'll like it. Don't you trust me?" Her hazel eyes were actually twinkling! How was that even possible?

Breaking in a small sigh l, I rise onto my feet. My hand latches onto hers before she pulls me behind her and leads the way. "Can I at least get a clue to where we're going?"

"Since I'm not as mean as you, sure." She joked. "It's actually really close to the bridge, we just have to walk a bit more further."

"A bit more further?" I echoed while looking at my surroundings. We were not walking through a forest like area, where massive trees were scattered around on top of the richly green grass.

"Something like that." Sarah murmured thoughtfully.

The amount of trees lessened but there was still plenty around. Sarah's footsteps slowed down, and I notice we were in a some kind of field. 'A meadow.' I corrected myself as I noted the lake near the grassland. Flowers colored the fields in beautiful reds, yellows and whites, that laid on top of the green marsh below it. You would never see something like this in New York.

"Is this is it?" I voiced in slight awe.

Sarah proudly nodded. "Yes. I used to come here all the time to pick out flowers for mom, when Rory and I used to read at the bridge." She looked nostalgic when speaking. "The first time I found this place, it was by accident. I got lost when I was running away from Rory since we were playing tag all the way home. I was so.. mesmerized by the beauty of this place, I couldn't stop coming back here."

"When was the last time you came here?"

"The day I transferred to Chilton." A slight bitterness was lacing her tone. "After that, my visits here were limited and before you know it, I stopped coming here completely."

Cocking my head to the side, I look at the beautiful girl beside me. "You sound like you miss it."

"I do, I did." Sarah corrected herself. "We're here now, so I can't really miss this place if I'm already here." She grabbed my hand. "Come on." I did as she instructed and followed her into the middle of the meadow.

"What are we doing now?"

Sarah laid her body down onto the soft marsh of grass, and looked up at me through powerful hazel eyes. "We, are going to lay here in peace while we bask in the great glory of the meadow."

"Sounds fun." I mutter sarcastically.

"Please Jess." She pouted at me.

"Fine." I managed out before laying my body right beside hers.

We laid there in a comfortable silence, with the sun peaking through the large amounts of trees. It's been a long time since I've ever felt peace, since moving here and maybe since before that. I couldn't deny that Sarah's presence didn't do anything, because it did. It added to the peaceful atmosphere whether she knew it or not.

Since moving here, I was known as the hoodlum, the bad boy, the rebel.. and only one person could see behind all the sarcasm and wit to actually stick around and still want to get to know me. I know it was unlike of me to even think about cheesy thoughts like this, but with Sarah I couldn't help but think of them. In a way, she was like my match.

Sarah matched me.

"You should stop thinking so much, you're starting to look like you're in pain." Sarah voiced with closed eyes.

"Oh ha ha. Funny." I shot back.

"Wow, maybe my career as comedian isn't so hopeless after all."

I turned my head to look at her. "What happened to the peaceful silence?"

She laughed. "The silence between us wasn't going to last Jess."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

After a moment of silence passes by, I leaned back and focused my attention on her. "So what's your story?" I bluntly ask her.

"My story?"

"Yeah, you already know some things about my life before I moved here, but all I know about you is that you're a Gilmore and your mom had you at sixteen while raising you away from your rich snobby grandparents." I smirked. "Oh and you have a strange addiction for coffee."

She laughed. "My grandparents aren't that bad-" Sarah paused. "Well my grandpa isn't that bad." she corrected herself, and I couldn't help the deep chuckle that sounded from the back of my throat. "Hey! That's not funny! My grandma is on a whole other level!" She belted out while lightly slapping at my shoulders.

"Alright, I got it." I held her hands. "Sorry for bringing it up."

"It's okay." Sarah bit her bottom lip.

Reaching around her waist, I adjusted Sarah's body so she now laid on top of me, her head resting against my chest. I didn't need to see her, to know her face was probably as red as tomato. "I'm listening." I stated as I waited patiently for her.

"Where do I begin?" She slightly joked. "Well I've lived here in Stars Hollow all my life with Rory. My mom had us when she was sixteen and dad was seventeen. Mom and dad were married for a little while but soon they divorced when Rory and I were about six years old. After that my dad started to do disappearing acts around us.. then one day he disappeared permanently with all his stuff."

"Bummer." I sighed. "I know how that feels, my dad walked out on Liz when I was a baby. I've never met the man, nor do I ever think I'd really want to. The only reason why I even know my last name was because Liz at least had the decency to put his last name on my birth certificate."

Sarah looked up at me with sorry big hazel eyes. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about." I bitterly sigh. "I got used to the fact that my dad didn't want me or wanted anything to do with me. It's not your fault he's a huge asshole who ditches the girl he got pregnant."

She looked like she wanted to say more but remained quiet.

I cleared my throat, wanting to change the subject. "So, you were saying?"

"Right. My dad left, but he still sends us gifts for our birthdays and usually visits us once in awhile." Sarah revealed. "To me, it doesn't mean much. My dad comes from a wealthy background too, but his relationship with his family is worse and he doesn't really speak to them, only on occasions. Rory has come to terms with his visits more than I have."

"There's nothing wrong with that." I nodded as waited for her to continue.

"What else.. hm." Sarah bit her lip in thought. "As you can tell, Rory and I are completely different from each other. While she's more studious and is practially in love with academics, I'm more bookish and tend to spend my hours listening to music and reading. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister but she can be a bit.."

"Overbearing?" I guessed.

Sarah nodded against my chest. "At times, yes, but I love her all the same." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Now where was I? Oh yes. Rory has high ambitions in life, she already has her life mapped out, especially where she wants to attend college. She has always had her heart set on Harvard since we were practically in diapers. Me on the other hand.. not so much. I have no clue on what I want to do with my life. Academically, I get A's and B's. So for college, I'm thinking of Yale."

"Yale?"

"Yeah. Some of my family have studied there and its really close to home." She reasoned. "I still haven't decided yet. I've always wanted to go travel around Europe, it's been a dream of mine since I was kid when I found brochures of it at the bookstore. Other than that, I don't know what I want to do after I graduate."

"Traveling? That doesn't sound too bad. It sounds much better than worrying about life after academic hell." I smirked.

"Oh shush." She laughed. "I can't think of anything else to say about myself."

"How about something more personal?" I suggested with a small chuckle.

Sarah grinned. "Personal? Well my favorite color is red, I'm almost 17 years old. I love making pop culture references, I'm a huge fan of 80's movies, and I can't resist a good book. Satisfied?"

"Smart ass." I grinned back. "You know that wasn't what I meant."

"What did you meant?"

I pulled one arm to the back of my head, before resting against it. "I meant, personal stuff like ex-boyfriends and all that other junk."

Sarah looked up at me with red cheeks. "Oh."

"So?" I waited for an answer.

"I-I.." She sighed, before licking her lips. "I've never had a boyfriend before, and I haven't had my first kiss either."

I stared at the beautiful girl before me in intense shock. "What? You're kidding." Sarah, however looked deadly serious. "How the fuck is that even possible?" The disbelief in my tone wasn't hidden.

"I don't understand."

"Apparently I don't either. Are these guys blind or just plain stupid? Wait, don't answer that. I know it's the latter. You're beautiful, smart, and actually use your brain." I explained my disbelief even further.

"Oh, that's what you meant." Sarah mumbled. "I won't deny that a lot of guys have asked me out on dates, it's just I've never accepted any of they're affections or offers."

Now it was starting to make a little sense. "Why's that?"

"I don't know. None of them ever wooed me." She answered quietly. "I've never been interested in guys or dating until.."

"Until..?"

Sarah's eyes darted to mine as she softly spoke with red cheeks. "Until now."

"Huh." Was the first thing that came out, and I winced at how stupid I sounded. However, Sarah looked amused at my painful reaction to her words. I wanted to say something along the lines of something just as romantic, but I was drawing a blank. It wasn't me to say cheesy things. I was snapped out of musings when I heard a small laugh sounding from the girl in my arms.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, except the fact that you openly admitted that you think I'm beautiful." She now looked sheepish as she sat up to look at me.

Now it was my turn to sit up. "Don't go getting a big head now, just because I admitted that I'm attracted to you." I must've shocked her with my proclamation, because her eyes shot up to mine. "But.. you are beautiful. Very much so." I admitted, this time much more softly, before brushing a lock of hair away from her face.

"Jess." Sarah now sounded very breathless.

Was it just me, or was it starting to get suspiciously hotter?

Allowing my impulse to take control of me, I cup her both her cheeks in my hands and lean my head forward enough for our heads to touch. My lips just a breath away from hers, and I wanted nothing more than to steal her lips in a scorching kiss.

I watched her face for any objection and found none. Instead, I saw undeniably clear written lust and want all over her face, but what really surprised me, was how her normally innocent hazel eyes darkened slightly in want and longing. I held no doubts that she wanted this just as much as I did.

Was it wrong of me to find her innocence so heartbreakingly attractive?

"Please.." I heard her whimper.

Without any more hesitation, I did what I have been dying to do since the first day I saw Sarah Gilmore.

Leaning down, I capture Sarah's lips in a slow heated kiss, her lips were a lot softer than I imagined, I realized when feeling the velvety texture press harder against my mouth. Her hands slid up to the flat plane of my chest, to grasp the front of my shirt. One of my hands reached the back of her neck, tilting her head up to gain more access to those tantalizing lips of hers.

I licked and nipped at her bottom lip little by little, eliciting a small gasp of surprise from the beautiful brunette. Tangling my fingers through her long locks, I slowly slip my tongue into her mouth. I groaned into her mouth, at the feeling of her lips pressed against mine as I wrapped my tongue around hers, slowly sucking on it. Sarah moaned loudly against my mouth and the purity of the sound made my blood boil, and I wanted to hear more from the girl in front of me.

Sarah arms wrapped around my neck to press herself closer to me, as my lips never strayed from hers. It wasn't long until I felt Sarah run her hands through my hair, her nails lightly scraping against my scalp. I groaned into her lips once more again, not wanting to break the kiss or the feeling her lips were bringing. Just imagining the thought of her lips wrapping around me with her hot mouth, was enough to drive me crazy. I felt myself twitch in my jeans, now only realizing how tight my pants had become.

Her lips were moving fiercely against mine, and I resisted the tempting urge to push her onto the grass floor and take things further. I sucked on her tongue, forcing a loud throaty moan from Sarah. I tightly squeezed my eyes shut at the sound, it was the sexiest noise I've ever heard, especially coming from the goddess before me.

Slowly breaking the kiss, I press a few more small kisses against her now swollen red lips, before moving back. She leans forward and catches my lips in one more kiss, this time it was a lot more softer and slow paced compared to the one before, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Pulling my lips away from her, I move my face away from hers to gauge at her reaction. The sight of her with red swollen lips and flushed cheeks, felt oddly satisfying since I knew I was the one who did this to her. However, I knew we needed to stop. Sarah has never kissed anyone before me and I didn't want to freak her out with our kissing frenzy.

When we broke apart, I saw Sarah lift her hand to her lips. "You.. kissed me." She voiced in both awe and in shock.

"Yes I did." I managed out, my voice now husky.

"What a way to steal my first kiss Jess." I was taken aback by the radiant smile covering her face.

I looked at her warily. "You don't mind that I-"

"No." Sarah quickly cut me off. "No, I wanted you to kiss me."

My heart quickened at her words. 'So, she wanted this just as bad as me.'

"Although, I think we did this in the wrong order." She laughed. "But it was really..-"

"Amazing? Spectacular? Mind blowing?" I listed rather arrogantly.

Sarah lightly shoved at my chest. "Don't go getting an ego now, but yes.. it was all those things." The redness in her cheek was evidence enough.

"Good." I said before letting my body fall back against the grass. It was silent until I heard a loud gasp coming from the girl beside me. Slightly sitting up, I quirk a curious brow at her. "What's wrong?"

"Oh god! I have to tell my mom!" She yelled.

"Tell your mom?"

Sarah looked at me with wide hazel eyes. "Yes my mom! Oh she is not going to like this one bit! I was supposed to tell her before it was going to happen!"

I sat up fully, a bit shocked. "Whoa, slow down. You were going to tell your mom about how you lost your first kiss?"

"Well yeah." She said as if it was obvious. "I promised my mom I would tell her when I'd have my first kiss. Rory did the same thing."

"You people are officially crazy." I stated.

Her lips were pursed into a small pout. "You like me because I am crazy."

I lean in dangerously close to her. "Maybe."

"Maybe he says." She grins at before kissing me softly. Unfortunately for me, the kiss ends just as quickly it began.

Again, I lean again to take her lips with mine but she moves her face back from mine before I can. I caught the mischievous smile now playing on her lips. "So we're playing that game now are we?"

"Maybe." Sarah mimicked.

"Oh, now you're going to get it." I said while reaching for her.

"Am I?"

"Yes you are."

"You better catch me fast then." Sarah quickly rose to her feet, and ran all the way to the other side of the meadows, not before sending a wink my way.

Jumping onto my feet, I soon ran after her. "You shouldn't have done that!" I warned her as O chased after her. Sarah was right in front of my line of vision, and wasn't as far ahead of me, thanks to her shorter stature. Once I was close enough to reach her, I pushed my arms forward and wrapped both of them around her waist, pressing the small of her back against the middle of my front.

"Jess!" She shouted in surprise, laughter following soon after. I spun her around with her body pressed tightly against me. Her laughter increasing with each spin. I pressed a few kisses on the back of her neck, making her squirm against my hold. I quickly stopped spinning the both of us before we became dizzy.

Turning Sarah around, I press her up against the nearest tree, a small smirk now etched onto my face as I look down at her. "I caught you."

"Yes, you caught me." She echoed with a beautiful smile.

"I wonder what I should do with you, now that I have you." I said slyly, while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Sarah slowly allowed her arms to wrap around my neck, pulling my face closers to hers. "I'm sure whatever punishment you have in store for me, is agreeable."

"I'm sure you'll find it is." I say before crashing my lips against hers, the warmth of her mouth forever imprinted on my lips and in memory.

'I could definitely get used to this.'

 ** _..._**

 _ **Sarah**_

 **STARS HOLLOW LOCAL BOOKSTORE**

"Jess, stop it!" I giggled when I felt his lips press against the juncture of my neck.

"I don't want to." He murmured against my skin, and it sent literal shivers down my spine.

I turned to face him, placing both my hands against his chest and shoving him back a bit. "You're going to have to. This is a public place, and you forget that everyone knows everyone in Stars Hollow. It wouldn't exactly a good thing, if my mother found out what exactly we we're doing in here."

"Oh the horror." Jess shot back sarcastically. "Its just kissing, it's not like we're having sex in the middle of the room for the whole world to see."

I blushed at his nonchalant tone when talking about sex. "And you wonder why Taylor calls you a hoodlum."

Jess crossed him arms. "Taylor has a stick shoved up his-"

"I got it!" I cut him off, when noticing the alarmed looks we were getting in the store.

"I still don't see why we had to leave, it was much more peaceful in the meadows." Jess grumbled.

I couldn't but let a small smile appear on my face. "You just wanted to stay there so you could continue kissing me."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing." I assured him. "But I did promise my mom I would check out the bookstore, and the record store in Hartford. I want to at least do one of these things, so I won't feel so guilty about lying to my mom about my whereabouts today."

He groaned "Ugh, you're so good, its painful sometimes."

Smiling up at him, I lean up and kiss his cheek when no one was looking. "I promise it won't be so bad."

"I'm just going to have to take your word for it." Jess sighed while raking a hand through his hair.

"Thank you." I said before directing my attention to the books in front of me, but found nothing I haven't already read. "I can't seem to find anything.."

"What about Hemingway?" Jess suggested as he pointed to books over the upper shelves.

My eyes darted to where he pointed, to the shelves dedicated for Hemingway's books. "Ernest Hemingway?" I questioned warily. "I haven't read much of him before, mostly because Rory thinks his books are boring."

"Boring?" He sounded at disbelief. "No way! You haven't lived until you've read the masterpieces of Ernest Hemingway."

"Well.." I began hesitantly. "If you think he's a good author, might as well give it a try."

Jess smirked victoriously at me. "Glad I could influence your choice." He reaches forward for the a Hemingway way book on the shelf way above me. Jess pulls out a copy of "The Old Man and The Sea."

"This one? Why?"

"Because it's an instant classic." Jess says in the books defense. "It's a great books, with great symbolism attached to it."

I sighed, taking the book from his hand. "I'll just have to take your word for it."

"Good." Jess says before pressing a kiss against the crown of my head. "Now let's ring this up."

I laughed, but obliged to his request. "As you command." I lightly joked while walking to the cashier. I gave her the book to have it processed for purchasing it. Once the cashier told me the amount, I reached into my pocket and pulled the amount of money needed. When the process was finished, I grabbed the book from the counter and headed back to Jess.

"So where are we headed to now?" Jess asked when I reached him.

"I don't know, anywhere that sells a good cup of coffee?" I teased him when exiting out of the bookstore.

"You want coffee right now? This late in the afternoon?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "What can I say? I love my coffee."

Jess chuckled. "Right, I've only known you a week and have since found out your strange addiction for the bitter taste of coffee."

"Only because its so good!" I defended with a pout.

"Its bitter and unhealthy." He countered back.

"Be that as it may, it's still too delicious to refuse." I was too stubborn about my coffee.

"If you like the bitter taste."

I ignored his last comment, before we wandered around Stars Hollow without a care in the world. I stopped for a moment and look at Jess warily. "Hey Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"What if Luke's asks you about your whereabouts today?"

"He won't." Jess looked at his thick banded wrist watch. "School's already out, and he has no reason to believe otherwise."

"Jess.."

"Trust me, he won't. Don't worry so much, you'll start to get wrinkles." He joked.

I playfully slapped his shoulder as we walked side by side. I bit my bottom lip, as I thought about today and how quickly everything shifted in a spend of one day. Not only did I trusted Jess enough with my secret spot, but I gave the guy my first kiss! And willingly so too! The temptation was just too hard to kiss and Jess.. he managed to leave me breathless with in one single critical moment.

Was it possible to be infatuated with someone so much after knowing them only for a week?

I didn't even know what our relationship was, I was to preoccupied with the feeling of his lips to even fathom a single thought. My heart ached a little, because I didn't want to scare Jess away by asking what today was and if it meant anything to him.. because what if it didn't?

From the way Jess kissed me, I could tell he has had experience in the lip locking department. Pushing back a pang of jealousy, I felt another emotion, I felt confused. Confused as to why Jess chose to kiss me even after I revealed I had no experience of kissing or relationships.

My thoughts began to wander and roam, I hadn't even realized where we were until Jess pointed out that we were right in front of my house. Thinking back on it now, I realized that a week ago today, Jess was a complete stranger to. A charming stranger nonetheless.

We were now standing on my doorstep when I felt Jess lift my chin up, his face now very close to mine. "Hey, why the sudden silence?"

"Why? Do you miss my craziness already?" I weakly joked.

His lips pursed into a small frown. "I can't say that I don't miss it." Jess paused. "What's wrong?"

"I'm confused." I managed out.

"Confused?"

I shyly nodded. "Jess.. today has been an amazing day, but I don't know if it meant anything to you. I'm confused whether or not you did all of this..-" I gestured back and forth in between us. ".. just to make up for last week."

Jess cocked his head to the side. "You think I kissed you, just to make it up to you?"

"Yes, no.. I don't know." I sighed. "I don't want to believe you kissed me just because of that."

"Sarah."

I continued to ramble. "But I had hoped when you kissed, that I'd get at least some kind of inkling or insight on how you feel about me and I-"

My ramblings were cut off when Jess crashed his lips against mine, my eyes instantly slid closed as I enjoy the firmness of his lips pressed against mine. He has the ability to turn my mind into a pile mush, to the point where my thoughts became hazy. Almost on instinct, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me.

His lips burning against mine with swift movement. Sadly, the kiss ended when Jess pulled his mouth away from mine, but his hands were still resting on my face. "May I speak now?"

Still too shocked to speak, I meekly nodded.

"I didn't kiss you because I was trying to make it up to you." Jess licked his lips before continuing. "I'm not very good at saying cheesy things but.."

"Jess.."

"Sarah, your really the only good thing I have goin' in this town." I noticed a slight coloring his cheeks.

"That can't be true.." I quietly argued back.

Jess scoffed. "It's completely true. Luke is only putting up with me because Liz isn't exactly mother of year, people in this town have already consider me a hoodlum-"

"But you kinda are.."

"That's not the point." He cracked a small smile. "The point I'm trying to make is that you make living in this town bearable."

My lips formed a smile of its own. "I'm happy I could make living in Stars Hollow more bearable.. I think?"

"Shut up." Jess chuckled before wrapping an arm around me and pressing a kiss against the my hair.

I leaned back against him. "I better go inside, before mom or Rory start looking for me."

"What you really mean to say, is before they find out you were with me this whole entire day." Jess assumed.

I shook my head stubbornly. "No, Jess. That's not what I meant at all. I'm not ashamed to be seen with you, if that's what your thinking. Yes, my mother isn't a big fan of you right now, but she'll change her mind-"

He raised a brow, still unconvinced.

"Maybe?" I tried, when pushing myself out of his arms. "Eventually?"

"Doubt it."

"You never know." I said while unlocking the front door, but before I enter the house, I swiftly turn around and kiss Jess one more time before pulling away. "Thank you for making it up to me today."

"I wasn't-"

I quickly cut him off. "I know, but still.. thank you."

"You're welcome." He smirked, when turning away to walk back to Luke's.

Opening my front door, I stop and turn around when I hear a voice call out to me.

"Hey Sarah." only to see Jess nearly across the street from where I am.

"Yeah?"

"You owe me a date." Jess wore his usual crooked smirk.

A huge smile broke out onto my face, as I bit my lip to contain the squeals bursting to come out. "You got yourself a deal."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"So am I."

 ** _..._**

 **THE GILMORE GIRLS RESIDENCE**

I walked into the suspiciously empty house, but I did notice that all the lights were on. "Mom? Rory? Is anyone here?" I called out. 'Great Sarah, do what every lead girl in horror movies do.'

"Mom is going to kill you." A voice stated.

Dropping my book in shock, I spin around to face where the voice came. "Rory!" I shout as I clutch my hand to my chest as I try to steady my racing heart. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry." She said meekly. "Wait, no! I take that back! How could you not tell me you had a boyfriend?"

"Rory it wasn't like that, I-"

"So you two weren't just kissing outside?" Rory asked sarcastically. "God Sarah, out of all the people to consider dating, you choose Jess! The same Jess who's also Luke's nephew!"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You were spying on me?"

"No!" She shouted. "I saw it by accident, and your lucky no one else saw it."

"I wouldn't have cared if they did."

"You would have, if they told mom about what exactly they saw."

My eyes slid closed as I realized she was right. "Oh god.."

"How long have you two been dating?" Rory questions suddenly.

"I.. we-" I stutter out with a blush. "Rory what you saw today, was the first time we ever did that. I swear."

"You mean..?"

I nodded with a small smile on my face. "Yeah, Jess took my first kiss today."

"Wow.." Rory muttered before letting out a loud guttural sigh. "Sarah, why Jess? You could have gotten any guy but-"

"Because I really like him, okay!" I yelled. I didn't mean to shout at Rory, but I didn't exactly like the way she talked about this, as if she knew this was a bad idea. A pang of guilt knotted in my stomach when I saw the hurt expression on her face. "Rory, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that."

"It's okay.."

"No it's not." I sighed. "I'm sorry, but Jess and I have this.. connection. I really like him and he's the only guy I've ever felt like this for.."

"What about mom? Last I heard, she got into a fight with Luke about Jess." Rory began warily.

"I promise I'll tell mom about me and Jess. I don't plan on keeping it a secret.." I told her honestly. "But Rory, you have to promise me you won't tell mom about what you saw tonight."

"Sarah.. you know I'm a horrible liar."

"So am I, but I need you to do this for me. Please Rory." I pleaded with her, using my big blue eyes as a weapon of defense.

Rory sighed. "Alright, I'll cover for you.. for now. You swear you'll tell mom about this later?"

"I promise." I smiled in relief. "Thank you Rory, I owe you one."

"You owe me a book." She corrected, but I agreed nonetheless. "Now tell me, how did this.. romance occur between you and Jess."

My cheeks tinted pink. "You sure you wanna know? It's kind of a long story."

"We have all night, and I just finished making a fresh pot of hot chocolate." Rory said with a sneaky smile as she teased me with the delicious liquid.

I grinned at her. "I'll tell you, if you give me extra whip cream."

"You have got yourself a deal."

After that, Rory and I spent the whole night talking about my new romance with the bad boy from New York. I didn't tell her this, but I'm sure she knew just how much talking to her meant to me. It's been awhile since me and Rory had a night just to ourselves just to be sisters and talk about all things going on in our lives.

In exchange for talking about Jess, I listened to Rory talk about things from school and her relationship with Dean. I was happy for my sister, as long as she was happy.

Today, was an amazing day. I had Jess to thank for that, even if some unexpected things occurred. There was a question that Rory asked me, and it really made me think about the events of today.

"Do you regret it?" Rory asked me.

I took a sip of my hot chocolate. "Regret what?"

"Do you regret Jess being your first kiss?"

The more I thought about the question, the more easier it was to form a clear easy answer. Smiling at my sister, I had come to one conclusion.

No. I didn't regret it one bit.

That night, all I could think about were those one of a kind crooked smirks.

 _ **...**_

 _So tell me what you want to hear_

 _Something that will light those ears_

 _Sick of all the insincere_

 _So I'm gonna give all my secrets away!_

 _This time, don't need another perfect lie_

 _Don't care if critics ever jump in line_

 _I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

 _All my secrets away, all my secrets away!_


	3. The Dinner, The Kiss, The Truth

**_The cast of Gilmore Girls: Kiss me in The Meadows_**

 ** _Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano_**

 ** _Dianna Agron as Sarah Gilmore_**

 ** _Alexis Bledal as Rory Gilmore_**

 ** _Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore_**

 ** _Scott Patterson as Luke Danes_**

 ** _Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James_**

 ** _Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore_**

 ** _Edward Herrmann as Richard Gilmore_**

 ** _Prologue:_ **_Meet the beautiful Sarah Gilmore, daughter of Lorelai Gilmore and sister to Rory Gilmore. Sarah is the sweetheart of Stars Hollow along with her sister, but when Sarah meets Jess the intelligent bad boy, things quickly heat up between the two and love ensues. What happens when these two people from two different worlds fall in love? Sparks fly and people fall in love, but is love enough for them to overcome those against them?_

 _The love story of the Rebel and the Princess._

 _ **Theme song for Episode Three of Kiss me in The Meadows: Don't Wait by The Duke Spirit**_

* * *

 _Time changes every idea I've ever had_

 _Oh, such a heavy love, rolls out like a blanket_

 _Why must it fold up on me?_

 _Why must it fold up on me?_

 ** _Sarah_**

 **THE MIDDLE OF STARS HOLLOW**

"I could use a hot steaming cup of coffee right about now." I pout, snuggling further into my red jacket for any remaining warmth. It was snowing in Stars Hollow, and I couldn't be more excited. Every year, Taylor holds a contest for the best sculpted snowman, and every year we enter but never win. I'm counting on my lucky stars that we win this year, and this year our snowman will be a snow-woman dedicated to Bjork.

Lorelai groaned. "Oh, that sounds so good right now." She was busy carving in a mouth for our snow-woman. "How do you like that mouth?"

"Um, it's not very mouthlike." Rory answered with a small grimace.

"Oh, I think it works." Mom defended.

I laughed. "Mom, its mouth is tilted to the side."

"Yeah, no, it was intentional. It gives her a unique expression."

"Like she had a stroke?"

Lorelai lips were pursed into a small pout. "Fine, I'll just use the Mrs. Potato Head lips."

Rory sighed. "No, forget it, leave stroke-mouth. It's not like we're gonna win this anyway."

"Whoa, bad attitude."

"Mom, face it. That is the single most incredible snowman I have ever seen." Rory pointed to a man who was sculpting the most magnificent snowman I have ever seen. The body of his snowman looked s realistic as a real human's body.

"Wow.." I stared at the snow sculpture in amazement.

Lorelai let out an annoyed groan. "I'm sorry, that snowman is way over the top, way too showy. It's screaming 'I'm incredible, I'm special, look at me.'"

"That's kind of the point of a snowman-building contest, the one who's looks the best wins." I pointed out.

"Hm, I hate this man with every fiber of my being." Mom narrowed her blue eyes at the "professional" sculptor.

"He looks nice." Rory quietly added.

"He's a ringer."

I tilted my head as I look at the sculptor. "How do you figure that? He could be just artistically talented."

"Someone recruited him, promised him a handsome sum, financed his theatrical snowman accoutrements, so he could snatch victory away from a deserving local in order to bag the contest prize for himself." Lorelai tried to reason. To me, it sounded more like an explanation, just in case if we lose.

Rory didn't buy it one bit. "Seems a little elaborate considering that the prize is a set of new US quarters."

"I highly doubt that someone would pay that much, just for quarters. You just want to win really badly." I grinned.

"Of course I want to win- Oh, we're ignoring him now." Mom grounded out, before turning to both me and Rory. "So, what are we gonna do on your school break?"

"I don't know."

"A lot of nothing."

Lorelai shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly at our answers. "Sounds good."

"Plus some homework." Rory added.

"And a lot of movies."

"I wonder what movies we can rent out that are actually good." I bit my bottom lip in thought.

Rory's eyes brightened at my question. "Oh, we'll just have to rent Godfather 3 on DVD."

Lorelai gasped. "You're kidding."

I looked at Rory for an explanation for her choice of movie. "In the audio commentary, Coppola actually defends casting Sofia."

"Now that is fatherly love. What's all this homework you guys have to do?" Lorelai asks the both of us.

"I actually don't have homework." I answered her. "It's Rory who has loads of homework."

Lorelai looked at Rory. "What kind of homework is keeping you from having fun on break?"

"Just stuff for the paper." She answered quietly.

"What? Why?" Both mom and I question simultaneously.

Rory blew a small sigh. "Because Paris wants the first issue back to be a double issue, so we have to prep over break and she says the news never sleeps."

I scoffed. "She's going a bit too overboard, if you ask me. Does Paris ever sleep?"

"I think she periodically makes a whirring noise and then just shuts down." She tried making light of the situation.

"Well, you can't work the whole time." Lorelai advised.

"I second that." I added.

Rory smiled. "Don't worry you guys. I won't, I promise." I then, heard Rory gasp. "Oh my God." She exclaimed loudly when her eyes darted behind me.

I turned around to see what caused this reaction, and my mouth fell open in shock. "What in the world?"

"What?" Mom asked.

"He's power buffing. He's actually power buffing his snowman!" I exclaimed in disbelief. I rubbed my eyes in extra effort, to confirm that I wasn't just seeing things.

Lorelai spun around to look. "Aw, now that is just wrong." she whined.

Rory sighed. "We're competing against the Michelangelo of snow."

"More like the Donatello of snow." I muttered.

"And we're Ernest Builds a Snowman." Mom unhelpfully added.

I shook my head and looked back at our snow-woman. "We should focus on our snowman instead of paying attention to his."

Lorelai nodded. "You're right. Heads down, stay focused."

"We can do this."

"Absolutely."

Rory moved forward in front of our snow-woman, and wrapped around a dark red scarf, which was from my closet, around her neck. Unfortunately when she does this, Rory knocks off the snow-woman's head off by accident.

We three, stare at the fallen head in silence for a close minute.

"About that coffee.." I voice, breaking the silence between the three of us.

"Right behind you."

 ** _..._**

 **LUKE'S DINER**

I breathed a small sigh of content, when I smelt the scent of coffee fill the air. Luckily, it was easy to find a table, since not a lot of people were currently occupying the Diner. It probably has to do with the weather, I noted. When we sat down at our seats, It didn't take Luke long to walk over at our table with his notepad at hand.

"Hi Luke." I smiled at the older man.

He gave a small smile in response. "Sarah."

Lorelai grinned and greeted Luke in her own way. "So, any specials today?"

"Nope."

"Oh. That sucks."

It was Rory's turn to greet Luke. "Hey Luke."

"Brainiac." He used his nickname for her. "Is there anything I can get ya?"

"Yes, could you please get us our usual three cups of coffee?" I politely ask.

Lorelai eyes flashed with amusement. "Please? Since when are you so polite?"

"Since I learned manners." I shot back, but slightly falter after. "And.. I just really want a cup of coffee."

"There's my daughter!" She laughed.

I pouted but looked at Luke pleadingly. "A cup of coffee sounds really great right about now."

Luke sighed but wrote down the order. "Anything else? You girls hungry?"

"I am. Can I also get an egg and tomato sandwich, with the bread toasted?" I ordered.

"Sure, no problem." He wrote it down, before turning to Lorelai and Rory. "What about you two?"

"I'll just have some chocolate chip pancakes." Rory said.

"Same, except throw in some bacon on the side and add extra maple syrup." Mom ordered.

Luke nodded. "I'll be back."

"Don't keep me waiting darling!" Lorelai called to his back. I didn't need to see Luke, to know he rolled his eyes at my mom's usual antics.

My opened to say something, but immediately closed when I saw a familiar figure wiping down a table opposite to us. I bite back a smile when I see him, after he's been on my mind all day. He really had that affect on me, whether he knew it or not. However, I didn't notice that I was starting to stare at him, when he had yet to notice me gazing at him. I barely managed to hide a painful wince, when I felt Rory kicked me under the table. "What?" I hissed in pain.

"Stop staring at him." She warned me. "Mom will start to notice if you keep looking back over there."

My cheeks became inflamed when I realized that Rory was right. I didn't want Lorelai to get suspicious, before I plucked up the courage to tell her about Jess. "Sorry.." I quietly voiced. Rory nodded in understanding before going into a conversation with Lorelai about homework or something along the lines of that.

Turning back to look at Jess at least one more time, I was pleasantly surprised to find his dark brown eyes trained on me, with a crooked smirk playing on his lips. If possible, my cheeks reddened even more when I was under his dark gaze. It actually kind of thrilled me in a way, because I had no idea what went through his mind when he looks at me.

Rising up from my seat, I look at both Lorelai and Rory. "I'll be right back." I excused myself, before mom could ask any questions or object. I went to find a certain someone who has been stuck on my mind all day, or for the fact of the matter since the first day we met. Jess was now behind the diner's counter, wiping down any speck of dirt. I casually strolled over to him, and made sure to act nonchalant, when in reality I was jumping up and down in excitement.

"Hi Stranger." I smile while leaning against the counter.

Jess immensely turns around to the sound of my voice, a crooked smirk etched on his lips, but what really made my heart stutter was the way his eyes lit up at the sight of me. "Hey."

I bit my lip at the sight of him, but soon quickly regret it when I notice his eyes dart to my mouth. "So, anything exciting happening today-" My sentence was cut off when Jess grabbed my hand and led me to the back of the diner. "Where are we going?" My question was quickly answered when Jess shoved the both of us in the janitors closet.

Looking up at him, I tilt my head confusion. "Jess, what are we doing here-" I was cut off when Jess pushed me up against the wall, before I could say anything his lips crashed against mine in a fierce kiss that left me absolutely breathless. Almost in an instant, my eyes slid closed as I greedily began kissing him back.

A quiet moan escaped me, when I felt his teeth gently nip at my bottom lip, while his fingers tangled themselves in my long tresses as he tilts my head back for more access to my lips. Jess firm lips never stop they're assault on mine, his body now pressed tightly against me.

My hands move past his shoulders and into his hair as our lips mesh together in perfect sync. Kissing Jess felt like the most amazing thing in the world, and his lips tasted better than any coffee I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. That's saying a lot for a coffee loving Gilmore Girl like myself.

When I feel Jess lips start to move a slower place, a smile crawls on my lips against his. I take in great satisfaction when I feel his hands gently caressing my face, when he places a few more slow kisses on me, before slowly backing away from me. Parting his lips from mine, until our foreheads are merely touching, our lips a breath away from mine.

"Wow.." I say breathlessly against his panting mouth.

Jess simply smirked at the compliment. "Now that's one hell of a hello."

Ignoring the heat in my cheeks, I beam up at him. "Do you greet people hello like that all the time?"

"Nope." His smirk was still in place. "Just you."

My heart stuttered a bit at his words, the flush in my cheeks becoming more pronounced. "Since when did you become such a romantic?"

"What? I'm not allowed to be?" Jess said in a faux hurt tone.

I laughed. "No, not really. Cheesiness does not suit you, at all. In fact its unbecoming."

He cocked his head to the side. "Are you actually complaining about me trying to be romantic? Don't girls like that kind of junk?"

"Some girls, but not me." I kissed his cheek. "I prefer a good book over flowers and chocolates any day." I teased while trying to contain my own set of giggles that threatened to erupt from me.

"Duly noted." Jess lightly chuckled. "So, I heard from Luke and some other few town's people gossiping about some stupid snowman building contest Taylor organized. Then I remembered, you, you're mom and Rory probably entered. Its safe to say I no longer think it's stupid."

"Aw, is it because of me?" I teasingly smile up at him.

He snorted. "And you say I'm the one with the huge ego."

"Only because it's true!" I defended. "And I'm only asking a question."

"A question, you already know the answer to." Jess chuckled in response.

I pouted. "I think I liked you better when you were cheesy."

He smirked. "You should've enjoyed the moment while it lasted."

"Okay fine! Maybe I do like a cheesy Jess!" I admitted with a blush. "Even if I'm not quite used to it.. yet."

Jess wrapped an arm around my waist. "Huh."

I nodded with a smile. "Huh."

"Are you copying me now?"

"No.." I lied but quickly stopped when I saw the expression on his face. "Maybe.. okay, yes I was."

Jess laughed. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a horrible liar?"

"Well I'm sorry if lying doesn't come as natural to me, as it does to some people." I stick my tongue at him, only to yelp when he leans down and kisses it. "Hey!" A blush was now forming on my cheeks.

"Now you'll know what's going to happen each time you stick that tongue out." He shrugged. "It's very unladylike."

Now it was my turn to laugh. "Unladylike? And here I thought you were just some random hoodlum with no sense of mannerisms."

Jess wrapped both his arms around my waist, pressing me against him. "Hm.. now that's not a very nice thing to say."

"I just live to tease you." I bit my lip to stop a smile from appearing.

"Then I'll just have to punish you for that." Jess dragged on dramatically.

Looking up at him, I sheepishly grin. "Should I be afraid?"

"You should be very afraid." He whispered into my ear, causing an involuntary shudder to crawl up my spine. I mentally berated myself for letting Jess have this kind of affect on me, although it wasn't so bad now since I'm pretty sure I had the same affect on him.

"As much as I'd like to continue this-" I gestured between the two of us. "I have to get back to mom and Rory before they notice how long I've been gone." Instead of letting me go, Jess leaned down and pressed a few more kisses along the length of my neck. I bit my lip to muffle any noises that threatened to be released. "Jess.." I whispered with a tone of longing.

He groaned against my neck, when I leaned my head back against the wall. Enjoying the sensation his lips gave me. I never knew it was possible to feel like this, I've read plenty of books on this subject, more than I care to admit, but before I never knew kissing could feel so incredible and even.. magical. Maybe my feelings for Jess had something to do with it.

Unfortunately, I knew we had to stop sooner before someone decided to go looking for us. Finding his lips, I give him one last kiss, dragging out the kiss for a bit longer before removing my lips from his. "I have to go.."

"I know." Jess said absentmindedly, his hands tangling themselves in my hair.

My heart warmed at these small moments. "You're distracting me." I sighed.

His lips formed its usual crooked smirk. "Is it working?"

"Kind of.." I admitted with a slight flush in my cheeks. "But I seriously need to get going now." I slipped past him, but not before kissing him on the cheek. "I'll see you later."

"I'll be counting every second until then." Jess retorted sarcastically, but from the look in his dark brown eyes, I could tell his words held some degree of the truth. Looking over my shoulder, I smile radiantly at him before leaving first from the janitors closet. I straightened my clothes and fixed my hair. Sadly there was nothing I could about my slightly swollen lips, hopefully Lorelai wouldn't notice.

Almost in a sneaky fashion, I casually walk back into the front of the dinner. Thankfully Luke was still behind the grill whilst preparing food for his customers. I made my way back to where Lorelai and Rory were sitting, and slid back into my cushioned seat. I ignore the hard glares Rory was shooting at me, but unfortunately I did notice the questioning look Lorelai gave me.

"That was a long time in the bathroom." Lorelai voiced with an edge of humor. "What were you doing in there that took you so long?"

I cleared my throat, heat flushing in my cheeks. "Ah. You know.. girl stuff."

She raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Girl stuff? I'm a girl, I do girl stuff too."

My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, I knew I was a horrible liar, but this was ridiculous! "It was different kind of girl stuff.. I-I was just fixing my hair! Nothing exciting, I can assure you."

"You? Fix your hair? Since when do you care about how you look all the time?" Lorelai joked, but she looked at me with skeptical blue eyes.

I pretended to look offended. "What? I can't start being vain? It does wonders for your ego."

Mom laughed. "Am I speaking to my daughter or some robot who looks like her and has decided to take over the earth in her place?" I bit my lip in amusement. "The day you decide to be vain, is the day you and Rory decide to burn your books for the sake of having fun."

Both Rory and I gasp in horror, just imagining us committing such a horrendous crime was a nightmare in its own right. "Mother! You can't joke about that. The image just gave me a heart attack! That's like the total apocalypse for us!"

"Mother? Did you just call me mother?" She sputtered out. "Now you're starting to sound like me when I speak to your grandmother."

I grin mischievously. "That was the point."

"I have taught you well-!"

Lorelai was cut off when Luke came over to our table with our food and coffees at hand. I breathed out a sigh of relief, when mom's attention went directly to the cup of coffee that was no in her hand. I barely managed to avoid the sudden interrogation I received when I came back from my little moment with Jess, I was suddenly very grateful for my quick thinking. Even if what I said didn't make much sense.

"Thanks Luke." I smiled at the older man when he handed me a plate of my own food, but my hand immediately darted to the steaming hot cup of coffee. Lifting the red mug to my lips, I sip the warm liquid, sighing happily when my tastebuds come into contact with the caffeinated liquid. Straining my ear, I heard a distinct gruff voice say "You're welcome." but I was too distracted with drinking my cup of delicious coffee.

"Let me know if you ladies need anything else." Luke said before walking off to tend to other customers.

"You got it mister!" Lorelai yelled whilst holding up her mug.

The three of us began to eat and I couldn't help the groan of satisfaction that left me as I took a bit of my sandwich. The same sounds left both Lorelai and Rory's lips as they took a bite out of they're chocolate-chip pancakes.

We were in the midst of eating, when I hear mom begin to speak cautiously. "So.. you guys both know that Bracebridge Dinner is coming up soon at the inn, right?"

My eyes widened in saucers as I take in her announcement. "What? It's already this soon? I thought it was next week!" I accomplished on not choking on my food due to shock.

"No Sarah, I precisely marked it on your calendar to remind you." Rory added unhelpfully. I narrowed my eyes at her, but stopped when she held her hands in defeat.

I turned back to look at mom. "Right, sorry. It must've slipped my mind. Who's coming to this dinner?" I asked interestingly enough.

"Oh, well there won't be too many guests. Suki and Jackson will be there since Suki is preparing the food and Jackson is the squire, whether he agrees to it or not." I smiled in amusement at the metal image. "Which reminds me.. I have to invite Luke! How could I forget to do that? He can bring Jess along too, which is cool I guess.." My eyes fell downcast at the slight unhappiness in her tone when mentioning Jess.

"Don't forget Dean!" Rory added. "I invited him and his little sister is coming to join us too."

I barely bit back the groan that threatened to escape me when Dean was mentioned, but I reigned it in for Rory. "His sister?" I tried to think of a more positive topic. "I forgot he had a little sister, what was her name again?"

"Clara. It's funny you ask, because she always talks about you." She informed me.

"Me?" A smile was now playing on my lips. "Why me? Aren't you Dean's girlfriend?"

Rory shrugged. "When I'm around her, she always gushes about how pretty you are and if I can ask you to come over so you can hang out with her. I have to say I'm a little bit jealous, that she idolizes my own sister more than me, considering the fact that I am dating her older brother."

I laughed. "She sounds like a good kid. I'm sure she'll like you even more at the dinner tomorrow night. After all, you are her brother's girlfriend as you pointed out."

"Maybe."

Lorelai cleared her throat. "Speaking of dinners, we have to go have dinner with your grandparents tonight."

"Tonight?" I exclaimed.

"Yes, tonight. Have you forgotten we have dinner with them every week on this exact day?" Mom eyes twinkled with amusement. "Should I worry if you're suffering from momentarily memory loss?"

"I think I'll be just fine." I quietly laugh, mentally berating myself for my own forgetfulness.

"Well maybe if you stopped sneaking off with Jess to suck faces, you might actually start to remember certain things." Rory muttered into her cup of coffee, thankfully it wasn't loud enough for Lorelai to hear.

With flaming cheeks, I kicked my sister's shin under the table, enjoying the slight hiss of pain that released from her. "Oops. Sorry." The wicked smile on my face was proof that I was anything but apologetic. I lifted my mug to my lips, ignoring the glares Rory was currently giving me, and focused on mom. "So what time is dinner with grandma and grandpa?"

"Eight o'clock tonight." Lorelai answered, as she rose up from her chair. "We better get going."

"You're right. There's actually some reading I have to do." I rise up from my own seat, but I'm briefly distracted when I catch Jess' eye, I notice he was leaning uninterestedly behind the counter with a book in his hand. To me, it was an extremely attractive sight, and I had to the push down the sudden urge to run over to him and kiss him senseless. It was becoming more tempting by the second.

Rory groaned. "Speak for yourself. I still have to finish some homework, before Paris comments on my 'supposed' horrible work ethic."

My attention was drawn back to my sister. "I wish you good luck." I patted her shoulder jokingly, as if she was preparing herself to battle some evil dragon. 'Although, there are similarities when it comes to Paris.'

"I know. I'm going to need it."

I let out an amused laugh as the three of us began to leave Luke's after mom paid for our food and our delicious cups of coffees. I stopped behind Rory, to give Jess a smile I saved specially for him, and in return, he gave me a small crooked smile of his own, before I was gone from his view. The smile on my face never wavered as I followed Lorelai and Rory to the car, with that said in mind, we were on our way home.

 ** _..._**

 **THE ELDER GILMORE RESIDENCE**

The five us sat in a chilling silence, as we enjoyed the steaming hot pot roast that was delivered by the house chef. The silence grew to be uncomfortable, and I knew it was starting to get to my own mother and Rory. I carefully dug into my food, savoring each bite, while praying for this unbearable silence to go away.

Thankfully my prayers were soon answered.

Lorelai cleared her throat, rather awkwardly as she looked at both grandma and grandpa. "So what are your travel plans Dad?"

"Hm?" Grandpa inquired uninterestedly as he swallowed a piece of meat.

"You and mom, you always go out of town this time of year." Mom explained a bit further.

I smiled kindly at the older man. "Mom's right, grandpa. Wasn't it the Bahamas last year?"

He slowly nodded, as if he was recalling the trip. "Yes, that's right, it was."

"I remember you had fun too. You said the Bahama…mians were real nice. The Bahamites? The Bahamamamamians?" Lorelai tried recalling, but was failing miserably.

I bite back a laugh and look at my own mother. "The Bahamamamamians? What's that? A newly formed boy band?"

"Hey!" Lorelai stuck her tongue at me, but I saw the amusement flashing in her blue eyes.

"The Bahamians." Rory corrected us.

"Thank you Wikipedia!" I teased my sister, earning a playful slap on the shoulder from her.

Lorelai snapped her fingers in recollection. "Yes! That's the name I was looking for! They were nice."

Grandma nodded briefly, finally looking up from her plate. "They were nice."

"So, what are your plans?" Rory asked a bit cautiously.

"We're not going anywhere this year." Grandma stated firmly.

I looked confused at the older woman. "But why..-" I stopped when I noticed the slightly hurt look on her face. "I mean, it can be really nice just staying at home sometimes because you can do fun things that you normally wouldn't have time for."

"Yeah, like play Running Charades, and get out that Slip 'n Slide." Lorelai helpfully added.

"We'll see." Grandpa sounded a bit glumly.

Grandma nodded in agreement. "Yes, we'll see."

Grandpa suddenly stood up from his chair, wearing a serious expression. "Would you all excuse me? I have to make some calls. Say goodbye before you leave, will you?"

"Yeah, sure Dad." Mom weakly smiled at him.

"You got it grandpa." I tried to smile at him, but my heart wasn't into it. I was too worried for grandpa, and Rory looked to be the same.

Grandpa walked away and went straight to his study.

"I hate seeing grandpa like this.." I say with a nerve of uneasiness.

I felt Lorelai squeeze my shoulder in comfort. "I know kid. It's hard for all of us." She then turned to grandma. "When is this awfulness with work gonna resolve itself?"

"I don't know. The man is so sensitive. He reads so much into every little perceived slight." The older woman sighed.

Lorelai smiled in remembrance. "Yeah. I remember one time when I was a kid, Dad had put on some weight, and he bought a new suit to try to cover it up. And he wore it for us and he said, 'How do I look?' and I said, 'You look fat.'" She paused when she noticed the looks grandma and Rory shot her, but I was too amused to say anything. "But I guess that wasn't really a perceived slight.. so, I'll think of another example."

I laughed. "You think?"

She shrugged in defense, an embarrassed blush now coating her cheeks. I didn't think my own mother could blush like that, but I guess you learn something new every day.

Dinner carried on as per usual, but it wasn't the same without grandpa. Thankfully he seemed a bit better after dinner when we wished him goodnight before leaving. I only hope that grandpa gets feels much more better after business has been dealt with.

 ** _..._**

 ** _[The very next day..]_**

 **LUKE'S DINER**

"Would someone care to enlighten me on why we're here so early?" I lifted my coffee filled mug up to my lips, it was literally the only thing keeping me up and focused.

Rory quietly yawned. "Because mom and Sookie are planning the Bracebridge Dinner."

"Right.." I drawled out tiredly.

My slightly dazed mind cleared up a bit when I heard Sookie groan in pure exhaustion. "I've got thirty pounds of aged beef, trays and trays of trout, mountains of pruned tarts. I diced pumpkins until my hands turned orange. I've got pumpkin hands."

"Take a sip." Lorelai simply said, offering her cup of caffeinated liquid.

"How can you stay so calm about this?" She asked, slightly annoyed.

Mom shrugged. "There's nothing we can do about it."

Rory shook her head in slight disbelief. "I can't believe they got snowed in."

"I know." I sighed. "They were the helping hand we needed."

Loralai blew a small raspberry. "All that work, all that extra help we hired." She then suddenly smiled. "Oh well. At least they paid for it already. We didn't lose any money."

Sookie nodded. "Yeah I guess. You know, I could still make up the dinner for the three of us."

"Yeah, but then it would be just the four of us, all alone in the dining room." I added as a reminder.

"It would be like The Shining, except instead of Jack Nicholson, we have Rune." Mom joked, and I barely manage to bite back a laugh.

Luke walked over to where we were sitting at, my eyes flickered behind him to the counter, but I saw no sign of Jess and figured he must've been upstairs in Luke's apartment or at school. I resisted the temptation to go upstairs myself and just spend time with him. Unfortunately, I had to pretend that I didn't care about his whereabouts.. even if I did.

"You girls want anything besides coffee?" Luke asked with a pot of coffee in his hands.

Sookie eyes suddenly brightened at the sight of Luke. "Hey, what about Luke?" She suggested.

"What about him?" He echoed anxiously.

"He eats, and Jess eats. Doesn't Jess eat?" Sookie asked him with a sly smile.

Luke looked confused. "What's she doing?"

"I think she's inviting you for dinner." Lorelai helpfully answered.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I thought you said you were going to invite Luke?"

"It must've slipped my mine. Sue me." Mom stuck her tongue at me before turning back to Luke. "So what do you say Luke? There will be lots and lots of free food!"

Sookie nodded excitedly. "Yeah, come on, join us. It'll be fun. You like Peacock Pie?"

Luke face contorted in disgust at the name. "I'm a hundred percent sure I don't."

"There'll be normal food too." She tried again.

"And decorations." Rory added.

"And music." I chirped with a smile.

"Come on, it'll be fun."

"Well.."

Lorelai gasped, her eyes wide in brilliance. "Hey, you know what? Let's invite everyone."

"Everyone who?" Sookie looked curious, and I'm pretty sure me and Rory looked just as confused as Luke.

"Everyone everyone." She stated it as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Everyone everyone who?"

"Everyone we know, everyone we like."

I smiled widely when I caught on to Lorelai's idea. "And all the guests could even stay in the inn. All those empty rooms, all those uneaten pillow mints."

"An out of control, over the top slumber party!" Mom exclaimed.

Sookie clapped her hands at the brilliant idea. "I love it!"

"Me too!" Rory smiled.

Lorelai's blue eyes shined with excitement. "Done! Spread the word.

Luke however, still looked at the four of us weirdly with some kind of stern expression. "I haven't said I'd come yet so I'm certainly not gonna suddenly become your messenger boy-" He paused when he saw the 'look' mom gave him. It was the stare that could make any man's blood run cold with fear from my mother's wrath. It was actually quite amusing to watch Luke act nervous around Lorelai. "Eight o'clock?" He gulped.

"Seven." She corrected.

"Right."

I laughed into my cup, before we all focused back onto planning for the Bracebridge Dinner.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Jess_**

 **STARS HOLLOW HIGH**

I couldn't get out of school fast enough once I heard the bell ring. I was sick and tired of entering this educational hell, and it didn't make it easier that I was still struggling to adjust. I thanked whoever was out in the universe for this break from school or should I say hell? Either way is fine since it's still a soul sucking place. Although, this place wasn't all bad I had to admit. My reasoning probably involved a coffee loving brunette who goes by the name Sarah.

A smirk came across my face when I remembered the explosive kiss from yesterday, the feel of her lips still freshly imprinted into my memory, and I wasn't against a repeat of yesterday if I got the chance to see her again today. I didn't know if I was a bad person or not for not caring if we were going behind Lorelai's back, but what I did know was when it came to chasing a girl like Sarah, it wasn't going to be easy.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when someone's shoulder roughly bumped into mine. "Watch where you're going!" The person shouted into my face. It was a boy around my age, I took note of his appearance. He had long blonde hair and wore a flannel with torn blue jeans. That's when I recognized him.. it was Chuck Presby. One of the most biggest egotistical assholes, I've had the pleasure of bumping into.

"Not my problem, you should've watched where you're going." I retort coolly.

He dryly chuckled. "You think you're funny don't you?"

I smirk at the boy in front of me. "Oh I know I'm fucking hilarious."

"Wiping that smirk off your face will be hilarious." Chuck threatened with a smirk of his own. "I don't mind punching the lights out of the new kid."

"Am I supposed to be scared? Does this actually work with other people?" I ask sarcastically.

He didn't look amused one bit by the lack of fear I was giving him, but I knew guys like Chuck, and I knew how to deal with assholes like him. He gave me a hard shove back, wearing a stern expression. "Keep it up pal, you'll get hurt." I admit, I hadn't expected the hard shove.

I chuckle dryly, while removing my jacket and letting it fall on the snow. "If anyone going to get hurt, it's you." I shoved him much more harder. It wasn't long before we attracted the attention of the other students leaving school. Soon there was a swarm of classmates surrounding us.

Chuck shrugged his shoulder, before pulling back his arm and letting his fist fly towards my face. I easily dodge his punch, and send a swift right-hook into his jaw. I smirk in pure satisfaction when my knuckles come into contact with the skin of his jaw with a sharp crack, I could tell it was going to leave a nasty mark. That made it all the more enjoyable.

"Whoa, hey guys! Guys, come on, break it up guys! Quit it!" A voice interrupted. I felt someone pull me away from Chuck, but I tried to resist against his hold due to the adrenaline rush to get at least one more good punch at the asshole Chuck. "Hey, hold it man, get off me!" The voice is seriously starting to annoy. I swiftly turn around and tried to tackle the tall frame that interrupted the fight, but it was to no avail. I pull my fist back, and swing it to his face, but the guy dodges it the last second. 'Lucky.' I mentally growled. "Whoa, hey, get off me man, I'm not fighting you! Jess, knock it off man! What the hell is your problem?"

I step away from him. "Nothing." I pant out, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins.

Dean or whatever his name was didn't look too convinced. "You saw it was me, Jess. Why'd you keep punching?"

"Had momentum." I easily answer with.

"Well I was trying to help you." He grumbled out.

I smirked at him, not caring if he was Rory's boyfriend. "I don't need your help, but thanks for offering." I slugged him in the shoulder a bit too forcefully, before grabbing my things and leaving. The crowd began to dissipate, which made it easier to walk back to Luke's.

I didn't need Dean to try and play the hero for his girlfriend's sake, I was more than capable enough to deal with things on my own.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Sarah_**

 **THE GILMORE GIRLS RESIDENCE**

"Thanks." I smiled at Rory when she handed me a cup of hot chocolate, today I needed something other than hot coffee to keep me awake. Especially since it was tradition, you needed to drink hot chocolate when it was snowing, it was practically a rule from winter 101.

Lorelai sat on the couch and reached for her own mug, before Rory sat next to her with a cup of her own. We were all still busy planning for the Bracebridge Dinner that was being hosted at the inn. It was fairly difficult work, since we were planning at the last minute and we still had to check the RSVP for our guests.

"Hey, did Bootsy RSVP?" Lorelai looks the sheet in her hand, which holds all the information of all guests who will be attending.

Rory nodded. "Yeah, he's coming."

"Thanks. Is he bringing anybody?"

"He's coming solo." I answered her.

"Okay. I'm gonna put him in room 16 with Luke."

"You can't do that!" I objected.

Lorelai pouted at me with big blue eyes. "Come on, let me have my fun."

I resisted a smile. "As much as you want to have fun, Luke's coming with Jess."

"Well, I'll put Jess in with Miss Patty." She suggested evilly.

I threw my head back in laughter. "Oh you are devious. If you do that, there will be no Jess left in the morning."

"You stink."

I rise up from the armchair, but my eyes zeroed in on the pile of Christmas cards that laid flat out on the coffee table. "Are these what I think they are?"

"It depends. Are these last year's cards or this year's?" Rory asked amusedly.

Lorelai scoffed. "This year's, of course."

"Don't scoff. Last year's set were still sitting here 'til Halloween." She pointed out.

Mom pretended to look offended. "Hey, if that's a crack at my housekeeping skills.. well then, okay."

Rory was looking through the pile of Christmas cards, and winced when she came upon a certain one. "Wow."

"What?" Both Lorelai and I ask simultaneously.

I reached forward and grabbed the card to inspect it myself, my eyes scanned the picture printed on the card. It was a picture of a red-face newborn baby, his face kinda resembled a tomato with puffy pink cheeks. "Oh my."

Rory shuddered almost comically. "This is one ugly looking baby."

I slap Rory's shoulder for her exaggerated act, before turning to face mom. "Whose baby is this?"

Mom looked amused. "That's your second cousin's Stan's. Poor kid."

"Not you too mom."

"Ugh, Sarah even you have to admit he's got Stan's everything." Rory said as she pointed to the card in my hand.

Lorelai lowly chuckled. "That's not even the ugliest baby in the bunch."

"You're kidding." She gasped when she reached into the pile and pulled out another Christmas card, except this baby face had much more puffier cheeks with a pig like nose. "Ouch!"

"That's the ugliest baby in the bunch." Mom stated when I took the card in my own hands to examine the card myself.

"I don't understand why people put pictures on cards." Rory pointed out.

Lorelai grinned mischievously. "Do they not understand we are unapologetic mockers?"

"Either that or you two are just terrible people." I suggested with a grin of my own, which resulted in pillows being thrown at me. "Hey!"

Rory shrugged innocently. "There's an unexplained innocence in the world." She paused when she came across a specific Christmas card. "Hey, I didn't see this."

"See what?" I ask a bit curious at the sudden shock written on my sister's face.

"Dad." She simply answered.

"Dad?" I echoed with a sense of my own shock. I immediately grabbed the card from her hands and look at the card in disbelief. There I see on the printed picture is my dad with some blonde haired woman in his arms who was carrying a bronze colored puppy. It's been awhile since I last saw my dad, but I could tell it was him, he had the same hazel eyes I inherited from him. My stomach began to feel queasy when I realized how happy he looked with another woman.. was he that content with the fact that he left his two teenage daughters alone to be raised by a single mother he abandoned?

"Oh." Was all Lorelai said when she observed the two of us.

"And the woman I'm assuming is Sherry." Rory said absentmindedly.

I whirled around to face Rory, hurt now written all over my face. "Sherry? You know who she is?"

Rory looked a bit taken aback. "Yes, I know her. Dad told me about her a couple weeks ago, he tried telling you too but he said you've been avoiding all his calls and letters."

"I wonder why." I sarcastically spat.

Lorelai gulped nervously, she probably figured I was one second away from marching upstairs and locking myself up into my room. "Uh, did I not show you that? Huh."

"They've got a cute little puppy and everything." My sister looked at the picture a bit enviously.

"Yeah.." I sighed.

"Oh, I must've put it in the stack and forgotten to tell you about it. Well, there it is." Mom said a bit uneasily. I could tell she was still pretty uncomfortable talking about her ex-husband. Not that I can blame her, since he did leave her to raise us alone. Even if she says she's fine with this arrangement.

"Nice looking lady." Rory said when she focused on the blonde woman in dad's arms.

Lorelai nodded with a tight-lipped smile. "Mm hm. Like a young Tammy Faye Baker."

"But prettier than that." Rory corrected unconsciously.

"Oh, I didn't mean not pretty." Mom cleared her throat awkwardly. 'Probably wanting to change the subject.' The voice in my head suggested. I couldn't really blame her. It was uncomfortable enough for me to talk about dad moving on with another woman.

"Hey, question about the room list." Lorelai changed the subject.

"Yeah?"

"Room 31, why is it empty?" She asked with curious blue eyes.

A small smile made its way onto my lip. "I actually wanted to run an idea by you."

"Run it."

I shifted nervously into my seat, whilst biting my bottom lip. "I thought maybe a certain depressed man and his wife could stay there."

"Woody and Soon-Yi?" She guessed.

"No. Grandma and Grandpa." I drawled out slowly as I watched for her reaction.

Lorelai leaned back against the couch with a loud groan. "Ugh, you've got to be kidding."

"Mom, think about it." I tried to convince her. "This could help cheer grandpa up."

"I'll send him a Def Jam Comedy tape. That'll cheer him up." She tried to convince me otherwise.

"But this is a really good thing to do." I argued.

Lorelai sighed, still not sold on my idea. "We'll donate money to charity, that's a good thing too. We'll stop kicking dogs."

I groaned. "Mom."

"Oh alright, I'll pencil them in, but they'll probably say no." As soon as those words left her mouth, I squealed and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" My smile fades a little when I step back to look at her. "But we're not gonna hope that they say no, right?"

"Right."

Rory nodded in agreement. "Right, because that would be really bad karma, especially on top of making fun of the ugly babies."

"Uh, I have a new year's resolution for you: become more cynical and self absorbed." Lorelai joked.

My sister looked amused, and shrugged carelessly. "I'll work on it."

I bit back a laugh, and focused back onto the guest lists, I have to say I was actually excited for the Bracebridge Dinner. Only time would tell if my wish for a good night will be fulfilled.

 _ **...**_

 _ **[The very next night..]**_

 **THE INDEPENDENCE INN**

My big hazel eyes took in my appearance from the large mirror in the room I was currently occupying. Tonight for the Bracebridge Dinner, I wore a burgundy red sleeveless dress. The dress had a sweetheart neckline with a flare to its skirt, the length of the skirt was tasteful, ending just above my knees. As for footwear, I wore these black zipped up heel boots since it was both practical and fashionable enough for a capable walk in the snow.

For accessories, I was wearing the earrings grandma gave me, which were these beautiful pearl earrings with small diamonds outlining the pearls. It was very expensive and I was extremely touched when grandpa surprised me with them for my birthday last year. It was time to put them to good use.

Leaning closer to the mirror, I focus on my facial features. I didn't wear much make up, save for the light touch of mascara and a quick swipe of pink lip gloss. My hair was left down, cascading down my back in rich waves, with a few tendrils framing my face quite nicely. I smiled in satisfaction at my appearance before leaving the room Lorelai and I shared for tonight.

I walk downstairs to see that some of the guests have already arrive, which probably meant I was upstairs longer than expected. My eyes scanned the lobby for Lorelai and Rory, once I saw them I let out a sigh of relief as I catch up to them. Rory was facing mom, so she couldn't see me coming. However, Lorelai saw me and a huge smile spread across her face when she caught sight of me.

"Oh my, and who are we trying to impress tonight?" She teased, as her eyes scanned my appearance from head to toe. Rory spun around to face me, her eyes doing very much the same.

A small blush covered my cheeks. "No one." It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. 'After all, it wouldn't hurt if Jess was stunned by my appearance.' That was an added bonus.

"Nonetheless, you look great my sweets." Mom patted my cheek affectionately.

I smiled at Lorelai. "Thanks mom. You guys look great too."

"I always look great." She raised her hand in a snob like fashion, but me and Rory knew it was all for good fun.

I look around the lobby and notice everyone still settling in, which meant dinner was supposed to be very soon. "Hey, how's Sookie doing in the kitchen?"

"Ah, well, she's paper bagging it." Lorelai answered casually.

Rory look at her confused. "What?"

"You know.." Lorelai breathes into a pretend paper bag.

"Oh, so she's right on schedule."

"You are quite correct."

Babette and Morey approached us after they set down they're things. "Hey dolls!" Babette greeted us with a big smile, as Morey nodded his head as his own way of saying hello.

"Hey!" Lorelai smiled.

"Hi, welcome." Rory and I simultaneously say. We both look at each in shock, before turning back to our guests. 'Creepy twin connection..' I mentally laugh.

"Oh Sarah! You look positively radiant tonight!" Babette exclaimed as she took both my hands in hers as she focused her eyes on my appearance.

I smiled at the woman, redness now blooming my cheeks. "Thank you Babette." her gaze transferred to Rory, as she took in my sister's appearance as well, eyeing her metallic brown dress with black ensembles etched onto it. "Oh Rory, you look great as well!"

"Thanks Babette." Rory smiled at the older woman, but was it just me or did it look a little forced.

"Lorelai don't think I have forgotten about you! You look amazing tonight dear." Babette smiled kindly at my mother. "You sure are lucky to have these two beautiful girls."

Mom teasingly smiles at her. "Ah. Well it's all in the genes."

Morey cleared his throat to garner our attention. "Are we the first ones here?"

"Yes, you are."

Babette sighed. "Now don't you freak out. Morey hates being the first anywhere. He thinks it hurts his street credibility."

"Charlie Parker was late to everything." Morey lightly argued.

The older woman rolled her eyes. "Charlie Parker had more drugs in him than a Rite-Aid. Forget Charlie Parker."

Rory and I bite back a laugh as she gave them their room key. "You guys are in room 8. It's all ready for you."

"Thanks, doll." Babette winked at her. "C'mon Morey. We can be late for dinner if it'll make you feel better."

Morey nodded. "A little."

"Yeah." She pats his back before heading up to their room.

I elbowed Rory in the ribs when I saw Lane walking towards us, but I was more surprised when I saw that she was all by herself. Once Lane spotted us, I saw a smile of relief appear on her face. "Hey!"

"Are you alone?" Rory asked in shock. I couldn't help but relate.

"Lane!" A familiar voice shouted from the other side of the lobby. That voice belonged to the one and only Mrs. Kim. I hate to admit it, but she was much scarier in person.

I laughed to myself. "And there go's Lane's independence."

Lane solemnly nodded. "My wedding night's gonna be very interesting."

"I wish you luck." I patted her back encouragingly.

Rory smiled at the older strict woman. "Hi Mrs. Kim. I'm glad you guys could come. You guys are in room 12."

I reached behind me and have Mrs. Kim her room key. She gave both of us a tight lipped smile. "Thank you." She turned to look at mom. "Hello Lorelai, thank you for inviting us."

Lorelai smiled politely at her. "Our pleasure. Do you need help bringing in the rest of your stuff?"

Mrs. Kim shook her head haughtily. "This is my stuff. Don't need any more stuff. People have too much stuff."

"You know you're right. People have too much stuff. Absolutely." Mom agreed, even if both Rory and I knew that Lorelai could be a huge hoarder. Lane and her mother father their small amount of things before walking to their room.

"Says the woman with 64 pairs of shoes." Rory slyly added.

I laughed in agreement.

Lorelai shrugged. "Thus proving my point." Her blue eyes flickered over the entrance. "What is Paris doing here?"

"What? Paris is here?" I practically screeched, whirling around to face the entrance. I saw the blonde shift uncomfortably in the middle of the lobby, her eyes looking around for someone who I assumed was Rory. "What is she doing here?"

"She had to bring me the newspaper stuff tonight. She just couldn't wait." My sister explained.

Mom let out a bitter chuckle. "A robot, she's a robot. Hi!" She shouted at a random person before walking away.

"Wait! Don't leave me here!" I whimpered, but quickly silence myself when I see Paris heading towards us full speed ahead.

"Hey." Rory greeted the blonde with a polite smile.

Paris simply ignored it and instead handed her a bag full of school work. "So here are the materials in the double issue. Some of the articles are gonna need complete rewrites."

She groaned. "Drag."

"Madeline's 500 words on test anxiety spends 400 of them arguing that stretch corduroy is the best material for low-rise jeans." Paris explained the work which was needed to be done.

I blew a small whistle. "Wow that's a lot of work.

"Well, let's see. Corduroy is a fabric, and the fabric of society is weakened when students.." Rory trailed off in thought.

"You can't get there."

My sister gave a small sigh. "Yeah, it doesn't look like it. I'll get right on this tomorrow."

"What about tonight?" Paris suggested.

"She's busy tonight." I cut in. I ignored the pointed look Rory gave me, and focused on Paris who was now wearing a confused expression. I knew I needed to say something for Rory, because she probably would have stressed herself out tonight just to please Paris impossible working standards.

"Doing what?" The blonde asked slightly annoyed.

"Well, this." I gestured to all around us.

"What is this?"

"It's kind of a big dinner party." Rory answered her.

Paris slowly nodded. "Oh. Okay, well, I'll get out of your way. Call if you need to talk things through, and oh- she uses the Prince version of writing. A letter U for you and a picture of an eye for an I." She pointed out.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

Paris began to turn around and leave. I was suddenly hit with a pang of guilt when I saw the blunt blonde start leaving, even if she just did give Rory a workload of homework. "I hope I don't regret this.." I mutter to myself. I walk towards the blonde and stop her from walking any further. "Hey Paris, are you busy tonight?" I slowly ask.

She spun around to face me, her face unreadable. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rory stepped forward, knowing where I was going with this. "It's supposed to mean, do you have anything going on tonight?"

Paris looked to be in deep thought. "Well, my parents are out of town, so my Portuguese nanny will make dinner and then I'll either get back to reading the Iliad or we'll play Monopoly. I crush her every time."

"Well I was just thinking, maybe you want to stay for dinner?" I hesitantly suggest.

"Here?" She questioned a bit baffled.

"Yes here." I cleared my throat to keep my voice from wavering. "We have a ton of food, and it's like a whole big show and everything, and if you're not doing anything.." I trail off unsure of what exactly to say next.

Paris scoffed. "Rereading the Iliad a third time is not not doing anything. I'm not pathetic."

"No one said that. I know you're not." I give her a friendly smile, hoping that I was successful in convincing her. "I just thought it might be fun idea. That's all, I swear."

She looked at me directly in the eyes, maybe to see if I was being genuine. "Well, I'll have to make a call." The blonde said before pulling out her cellphone and dialing a number.

"Good, make it." Rory said with a small smile.

"I just have to let Nanny know." Paris explained as she lifted her phone up to her ear. "Nanny? É Paris. Vou jantar com Rory hoje à noite. Eu telefono no caminho de casa. Tchau."

"She speaks French?" I murmured in both amazement and disbelief.

"Yeah, Paris never does anything by halves." Rory explained to me. Suddenly her lips formed a sly grin, which kind of spooked me. "That was a nice thing of you to do."

"What was?" I was clearly confused on what she was talking about.

"Inviting Paris to dinner." She answered as if it was painfully obvious.

"Oh." I shrugged nonchalantly. "That was nothing, I just didn't want her to feel lonely or left out. Besides, we have plenty of seats left."

"Well I still think you have a heart of gold." I opened my mouth to object, but it immediately closes when I spot Dean heading towards us with a little girl at his side.

"Hey." He smiled at both of us. Thankfully, I was able to muster up a smile at him. Rory set the clipboard aside and rushed over to give her boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek. I barely managed to hold in "ew" that threatened to escape.

"Hello there. Hey Clara." My sister greeted the little girl, Rory looked over to me with a smile. "I have someone I'd think you'd like to meet."

"Really?" Clara's eyes shined with excitement, her gaze shifting to mine.

I took that as my cue and stepped besides Rory. "Hi Clara, I'm Sarah. It's nice to meet you. Rory here has told me that you've been asking for me, is that true?" I smile at the girl.

Clara looked almost dazed at the sight of me. "Yes I have! I always beg her to bring you over when she comes to visit Dean."

"Is that so?" I say coyly. "Well one of these days I have to stop by and visit you personally."

She gasped and clasped her hands. "I'd love that! You can finally help me with girl stuff since Dean sucks at it."

"Hey!" The floppy-haired boy indignantly shouted.

I laughed at the charming girl's words. "Well young lady, I think you look absolutely beautiful tonight." I noted the adorable black and white dress she wore, which contrasted quite nicely with her short blonde hair. "Is that a Stella McCartney?"

"It's a Walmart." Clara revealed with a small embarrassed blush. "It's nothing compared to what you're wearing."

"Well I think it's still very beautiful." I smiled at the young girl, brushing back her short blonde hair.

Rory nodded with a small smile of her own. "Sarah's right, it's very pretty."

Clara cheeks colored from our compliments. "My mom bought it for tonight."

"She has good taste." I say as I stand upright, garnering a small giggle from the younger girl. It was hard to believe she was related to Dean. I could see myself enjoying small talks with Clara, while she used her childlike charms on me.

"I didn't know he was coming." Dean voiced suddenly.

"Who?" Rory asked.

"Jess." He grumbled out. I followed his gaze and felt a smile come across my face as I caught a certain guesting wandering around the lobby with a dangerous smirk.

"Jess?" I echoed. I turned back to look at Dean, and noted the slight angry look on his face. "He was invited. Is that a problem?"

He gave a careless shrug. "Not really."

"Dean." Rory warned.

Dean clenched his fists. "It's just that, he got into this fight with this guy at school, and when I broke it up he started in on me."

"He got into a fight?" My eyes widened incredulously at this newfound information. 'Why didn't Jess tell me..?' The question echoed soundlessly through my mind, as a pang of worry hit me like a ton of bricks.

Rory face morphed into anger. "He hit you?"

"He tried." Her boyfriend answered.

I crossed my arms, becoming increasingly irritated at his clipped tone. "Why would he do that?"

"Don't ask me to explain that jerk." Dean snapped, as all our gazes went to Jess. For a moment, I forgot where I was when I saw Jess give me a brief wave before returning to Luke, but I noticed he did stop to give Dean a condescending smirk. "He better not do that all night." He said, his jaw now clenching in annoyance.

"Well Rory, I'm sure you got your boyfriend covered. I'm going to check on the rest of the guests." I said, giving all of them smiles.

Dean face contorted in confusion. "Wait, you're not going to stay with us? I thought-"

"I have things to do and guests to tend to." I quickly interrupted him. "I'll see you guys at dinner." Rory looked at bit angry at my behavior towards Dean, but I couldn't help myself, especially when he was saying rude things about Jess. 'He doesn't even know him!' I mentally screamed.

I hurried off to find Jess, but I had no such luck.

My search was pulled to a stopped when I felt Lorelai yank my arm and lead me to the middle of the lobby. "They're here." She whispered harshly into my ear.

"Who?" Was my automatic response.

Lorelai pointed towards the entrance of the inn. "The Joy-less Luck Club."

I drifted my gaze to her line of vision, and saw it was grandpa and grandma walking towards us with proud postures and extravagant clothes. "Hello girls. You look particularly lovely tonight."

"Thanks Grandpa." I smiled at him.

Mom looked a bit taken aback from the compliment, but smiled nonetheless. "Thanks Dad. You guys look nice yourselves."

"Seems like the occasion called for it." Emily said stiffly. "Where is Rory?"

"Oh, she's with Dean at the moment. She's been so busy, so I decided to take off some of the work load on her shoulders." I explained, hoping it was enough to satisfy the older woman.

Grandpa and grandma nodded in acceptance of my explanation, before grandpa quickly changed the subject. "The air seems crisper here than Hartford. It's wonderful."

"Hey Dad, you didn't grab the wrong prescription bottle earlier today, did you?" Lorelai chuckled at her own joke. I bit back my own laugh, realizing grandpa's behavior was a lot different from the night before.

"What?" He looked lost at the joke.

"Oh it's nothing." I quickly covered for her.

Grandma looked suspiciously between mom and I. "I think she was making one of her funny jokes."

"Oh, went straight over my head." Richard chuckled.

Lorelai looked at the bags beside their feet. "Let me get someone to help you with your bags."

Grandad shook his head as he picked up their bags. "No, no, I've got them. Just point me to the room."

"You guys are in room 31, best room in the place." I told them, giving both of them their room key.

"Oh, anything's fine. I'll, uh, see you in a bit." He smiled briefly before walking away.

"What got into him?" Lorelai asks, but I could help but detect the hint of worry lacing her tone.

I nodded in agreement. "He's acting totally different. It's almost.. strange."

Grandma sighed. "I know. He's been that way for two days. I have no idea why but I'm taking the credit."

Lorelai mouth opened to say something more, but was cut off but another guest in need of assistance. "Ugh, a hostess' job is never done." I heard her mutter before tending to another guest. "Hi."

That's when I knew, that tonight was far from over.

 ** _..._**

It wasn't long before the guests were gathered together in the lobby. Right now, the guests and the rest of us were scheduled for a horse drawn sleight ride. I was actually looking forward to this activity tonight, mostly because I couldn't wait to ride in a sleigh. Sadly, I didn't have a partner and I was pretty sure Rory was riding with Dean.

My thoughts ceased when I heard Lorelai clap her hands for our attention. She was in the middle of the room, wearing a big smile for our guests. "Hey everybody, will you gather round!" She repeated to garner the focus of those who weren't paying attention. "Everyone, everyone!" I laughed at my mom's silly antics. "First of all, I want to welcome you to the first annual and probably never ever to be held again because Sookie's on the verge of a nervous breakdown Bracebridge Dinner."

"I'm fine, everything's fine." Sookie objected, but even I could tell she was one second away from a nervous breakdown.

Lorelai didn't look convinced, but carried on anyways. "I also want to thank Mother Nature for snowing in the Trelling Paper Company in Chicago so I can throw this great party for all my friends instead." Everyone laughs at the small joke. "It's a very special night. And so, since I don't get to eat unbelievably strange food with my friends everyday, I have arranged a little surprise. Outside, as we speak, is a line of horse drawn sleighs and everybody gets a ride." The guests hollered and cheered for joy at the announcement. "So, uh, line up and keep it orderly. There's two per sleigh and no cutting in front of each other - that goes for everyone. Except me, 'cause I'll be damned if I'm gonna miss a ride in a horse drawn sleigh. Come on."

Everyone followed out Lorelai, putting on their coats and scarves to protecting themselves from the crisp cold of night.

I noticed Luke and Jess looked quite uncomfortable on the couch as they watched the rest of the guests depart. "You gonna go?" Luke asks.

Jess simply shrugs his shoulders. "I think I'll wait for the clog dancing." My heart sinks a bit at his answer. 'Well there goes my hope.'

"Hey, hey, don't move." I hear Dean chastise Clara.

His younger sister began to pout, and I couldn't help but find it so adorable. "But we're gonna miss all the good horses!"

Rory grinned cheekily. "Who is this brazen woman competing for your attention?"

"Come on!" Clara shouted, pulling on Dean's arm.

Dean looked helplessly between the two girls in his life. "Uh, I guess I'm spoken for."

"I'll see you back here." Rory said, but I noticed the crestfallen look on her face when Dean left with Clara.

I walked over to my sister, placing a arm around her. "Hey stranger."

"Hey." She mumbled quietly, before looking at me. "You don't have a partner?"

"Nope." I emphasized the "P".

"What about Jess? I figured he'd ask you." Rory voiced curiously.

I sighed, the sinking feeling returning. "I thought so too." I tried to push down the swell of disappointment, and opted for a smile instead. "I guess I'm riding solo, unless you want to join me?" I offer the choice as a suggestion.

Rory smiled at my offer. "As tempting as that offer sounds, I'm going to have to refuse. I'll just wait for Dean to finish with his sister, then me and him can ride together."

"If that's what you want." I teased, knowing she was probably waiting for alone time with her boyfriend. "Don't wait up."

"I won't."

I made my way to the coat rack, searching for my coat and scarf. I quickly wrapped my white scarf around my neck and put on my red jacket. I smiled at Rory once more before leaving through the entrance of the inn.

 _ **...**_

 _ **[OUTSIDE THE INN]**_

Once I was outside the inn, I noticed sleighs already missing. Majority of the guests were already gone and probably having the time of their lives. Even if I was pushing down some of my disappointment, I decided that a peaceful ride just by myself was just as good as having company beside me. Although, it sounded more like I was trying to convince myself it was.

I walk to an empty slight, getting in carefully as I sat down patiently. The driver looked to me as if he was expecting another person. "That it miss?" He questioned with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yep. I'm alone." I bitterly answer.

Thankfully, the driver doesn't push anymore. He lifts up the reigns connected to the horses, signaling to start as the sleigh begins to move. I look up at the night sky, mesmerized by the winter skyline. "I guess it's not all that bad.." I muttered to myself.

Or at least, that's what I was trying to convince myself with.

 _ **...**_

 ** _Jess_**

"Damn, it's freezing out here." I shuddered slightly into my jacket. All of sudden, I regretted wearing nothing more than a jacket and a scarf. I don't know how these people can stand this cold weather, but I decided not to dwell on the matter.

Right now, I was more currently focused on finding a certain brunette. I inwardly smirk, when an image of her tonight surfaced to the forefront of my mind. She looked amazing tonight, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who noticed either. I had to push down the urge to grab her and kiss her in front of everyone, especially in front of the douchebag named Dean.

I spotted her in one of the sleighs, and I figured it just started leaving since she wasn't that far away from the inn. Grinning to myself, I take a chance and run towards the sleight almost as if I was maniac. Risking myself getting injuries, I hurriedly jump into the sleigh, making the first passenger gasp in shock.

"Jess! What are you doing?" Sarah shouted in surprise, as her eyes scanned over my body for any injuries. "Are you insane?"

I shrugged into the collar of my jacket. "Well, I heard it was two to a sleigh- no more, no less. You were breaking the rules." I pointed out as I took in the beauty right in front of me.

"You could've hurt yourself." Her hazel eyes flickered to mine in concern.

The smirk on my face hadn't left, knowing she cared about me. "I live on the edge. I can jump out if you want."

"Just be careful, alright?" Sarah said in a clipped tone before focusing her eyes straight ahead.

"Are you mad at me or something?" I was slightly taken aback by her unusual behavior. Usually, Sarah was full of smiles and lively energy, but now she seemed.. different.

She sighed as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes, no, maybe so? I don't think so. It's more like I'm frustrated."

"I can't read your mind." I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You got into a fight with some guy, and tried to hit Dean." Sarah finally answers me without the cryptic bullshit.

"Dean?" I questioned.

"Dean. As in Rory's boyfriend Dean." She reminds me.

I uncaringly nod. "Ah. He's still her boyfriend? He's a bit of tool, don't you think?"

Sarah bit her lip to muffle a giggle, as she tried to keep a straight face. "That may be true, but Rory is a bit upset about that. When she's upset, I'm concerned."

I groaned in annoyance. "I wasn't fighting him. I was fighting someone else. He jumped in on his own."

"He said he was trying to help you." She defended.

"Oh, he should go into government service if he's so interested in helping people. But me, he can stop worrying about." I gave her a confident smirk.

"Why were you even fighting in the first place?" She sounded almost hesitant . As if she was afraid to know the answer.

I shrugged. "'Cause Chuck Presby's a jerk."

The hazel eyed beauty looked stunned by my revelation. "You were fighting Chuck Presby?"

"Yeah." I paused to look at her myself. "Why?"

"Oh, he is a jerk." Sarah stated like it was a fact. "I remembered he asked me out when I still attended Stars Hollow High, that jerk couldn't understand the meaning no until I practically screamed it at him." My fists unconsciously clenched at her explanation, but then I reminded myself that she did say no to him. Which honestly did wonders for my ego, knowing I was the only guy she said yes to.

I bit back a loud groan. "This whole town is weird and full of jerks."

Sarah took my hand in hers, squeezing it in comfort. "I figured you would be out of town since you're on break."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I thought you would use this break to go back to New York for awhile."

A bitter laugh escapes me. "My mom didn't want me to."

"I don't believe that." She halfheartedly argued.

I shrugged uncaringly. "That's your right, I guess."

Sarah looked at me with concern written all over he features. "Did Luke say she didn't want you to?"

"Luke told me it was his idea that I should stay." I lean in close to hear and whisper "It wasn't his idea." We both sat in silence after that, not that I could blame her, I mean what could you say after that?

The sleigh was now slowing down a bit when we came across a bunch of snowmen in the middle of Stars Hollow. "That's good." I pointed to the snow-woman I knew Sarah and her family built.

"What?" She questions softly.

"Your snowman. Snow-woman, actually." I corrected myself with small smirk.

Sarah's lips lifted up into a small smile. "You know which one is ours?"

I nodded as the sleigh moved a lot closer. "It definitely has the most personality. Kind of looks like Bjork."

"That's what we were going for."

"Yeah?" I turn to look at her.

She nodded. "Yep. Sadly, everyone thinks the one on the end is gonna be the winner." Her lips were pursed into a line, as she observed the professionally done snow sculpture. "Not that I can blame them, it looks amazing."

I quirk a brow at her. "Really? It's so overdone."

"I agree."

"You should win." An easy grin makes an appearance on my face.

Her beautiful hazel eyes glowed from my words. "No argument here." There was a moment of silence, when our eyes connected and we remained still as we both stared at each other.

I slowly lean down and brush my lips against her, almost smirking when I hear a small whimper leave her lips. Being close to her, after thinking about her all day made my blood boil with a certain urgency.

I slant my mouth over hers, pulling her into a heated kiss as we swiftly moved in sync. I shove my hand into her hair as I press her lips a bit firmer against mine, her hand trailing up neck and into my hair. A sigh of relief escaped her, when our lips came into contact. I had the pleasure of knowing that I wasn't the only craving for this the entire day. Sarah moaned quietly against my lips, and as much as I wanted to continue this, and I painfully really wanted to hear her again. I was well aware of the driver sitting in front of us.

Pressing a few more firm kisses on her lips, I slowly pull back wanting to savor the feeling of her soft mouth against my firm one. Nuzzling my nose into her neck, I press a small kiss on the base of her throat. I felt Sarah's soft pants hit my cheek, I bit back a groan at the small kisses she gave me on my cheek. As if she knew she was teasing me.

I pull away from her, sitting up straight in my seat. I noticed her flushed cheeks and red lips, which was proudly caused by me. I felt smug, knowing I was the cause of her lust filled gaze. I brushed her hair away from her face, to get a better look at her beautiful face.

"I've been waiting to do that all day." I admitted a bit smug.

Sarah still looked a bit dazed. "What took you so long?"

I chuckled at her breathless voice. "Sorry. If you hadn't noticed, you've been extremely busy lately. It's hard enough already with us sneaking around like this all the time."

"I know.. I'm sorry." She leaned up and kissed my cheek. "I hate sneaking around like this too."

"Hey, it's okay." I give her a small smile. "I understand why we're doing this, I'm fine just being with you like this. Especially if we're kissing like that all the time." I smirk at her.

Sarah's cheeks color pink. "Alright, I got it. The kissing is good, no problems there." She paused, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "I just want to be able to walk around with you in public, and do couple things like how Rory does with Dean."

I outright chuckle at her term of "couple things" "Sarah, we'd be anything but a normal couple. Especially a much better couple than that tool and your sister."

She slapped my shoulder, but I caught the shake of laughter. "Okay, maybe you're right about that. But still, I'd like it if my own boyfriend could actually kiss me in public instead of dingy janitors closets."

"We could if you just told Lorelai already."

"It's not that simple Jess." Sarah ran a hand through her long hair. "I want to, believe me I do."

"Then what's stopping you?" I wrap an arm around her, while trying to keep myself patience in check.

She lays her head on my chest, as we both sit comfortably into the sleigh. "I'm scared." Her voice was very quiet.

"Scared of what?" I stroked her hair, hoping it was enough to relax her.

"I don't know.. her reaction?" Sarah sighed. "My mom wasn't exactly thrilled with what happened when you came over for dinner, and since then she's been a little.. hostile towards you."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You think?"

Sarah quietly laughed. "When I tell my mom about us, I don't want her freaking out on me about this. Because then she'll probably say it's a phase, since you have this brooding bad boy thing going on for you."

"Brooding bad boy thing?" I echoed with a small smirk.

She slapped at my chest. "Oh stop, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I don't exactly scream 'meet the parents.'"

"No, you scream 'parents beware for your daughters.'" Sarah grinned up at me.

I looked down at her with a smirk of my own. "So that's why you like me so much, you want to rebel against your parents wishes."

Sarah smiled coyly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, I merely keep you around for the company."

"I think we both know, you keep me around for more than my company." I teased. Her cheeks increasingly reddened by my words.

"You might be right."

"I know I'm right."

Sarah looked up at me, her hazel eyes lighting up with glee. "Cocky much?"

"Oh, you have no idea." I smirk at her.

Her eyes widened when she catches the double meaning of my words. "Jess!"

"What?"

She shook her head, but I noticed the amused smile playing on her face. "Nothing, anyway it looks like our ride is about to come to an end."

I raised a brow at her. "Is it? I say we make the most of our time here, while we still have a chance." I grasp at her chin, lifting her face up to mine.

"Jess-" I pull her into another deep kiss before she can say any more.

 ** _..._**

 ** _Sarah_**

 **BACK TO THE INDEPENDENCE INN**

 ** _[THE INN'S DINING ROOM]_**

The smile on my face had yet to disappear, but I couldn't help it even if I was arousing suspicious looks from the other guests, including mom with my sudden change of behavior. Looking to my left, I saw Jess looking as smug as ever with a giant crooked smirk covering his face. Not that I was bothered by it, if he could just stop looking at me like he wants to completely devour me. My cheeks instantly flushed by the mental image. 'Bad Sarah.' I mentally chastised myself.

Jess helped me inside the inn, and even helped remove my coat. Thankfully the guests and Lorelai were too busy with their own agendas to notice. I was about to head to Lorelai and Rory, when a hand stopped me. I turn around to see Jess' hand wrapped around my wrist, before he pulls me closer to him. "Jess.." I begin to warn.

"Did I tell you, how beautiful you look tonight?" He interrupts me, leaving me stunned with his sudden compliment. His eyes raking up and down my form with lust and want. I was still too shocked by the words that left his mouth, in a so unlike Jess fashion.

My hazel eyes widened at his words, but I couldn't ignore the rosy heat in my cheeks. It was strange and charming to hear those words come out of Jess' mouth. He didn't look like the type of person who would throw compliments all around. I was at a sudden loss for words. "N-no.."

Jess leaned down closer to me, his lips ghosting against the shell of my ear. "You look beautiful tonight." Those words sent a chill down my spine, and I found myself wanting to lean closer to him. He pressed a small kiss against the base line of my neck, before he pushed himself off me and went to find Luke.

I stood in the middle of doorway, stunned in silence at just what happened. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, as I realized Judy how breathless I was from him whispering sweet nothings into my ear. The urge to kiss him senseless was becoming a repeating occurrence, and I didn't know how to handle it.

Deciding to push my innermost thoughts aside, I walked further into the inn to the dining room since dinner was scheduled right after the sleigh rides. However, I stopped in mid-step when I saw a familiar tall floppy-haired boy glaring at me from across the room. I felt my heart jump into my throat, when I realized it was Dean. He was standing there with a dark scowl written over his face.

That's when I knew he saw me and Jess together.

My nerves were sent into overdrive, but I quickly calmed myself down. Questions were surfacing to the forefront of my mind, as to why was Dean looked so upset by the sight of me and Jess together. It didn't make any sense, and if I'm correct, he was currently supposed to be with my sister in the dining room.

I didn't think much about it, and headed straight for the dining room.

"You shouldn't be around him." A voice stopped me.

I slowly turned around to face where the voice came from. "I'm sorry?" I opted to act clueless.

Dean jaw clenched tightly when he approached me. "I saw you with him."

"With who?"

"Jess." He pointed out the obvious. "You know he's bad to be around with, especially after what I told you and Rory."

I stared at the tall boy in front of me. "Dean, your not seriously going to suggest what I think you are. Who I keep in my company is my choice, especially if I choose it to be Jess."

"Sarah, don't be so naive. Jess is bad news, everyone knows it." Dean argues.

My patience was starting to wear thin. "You don't even know him!" I defended. I held my tongue from saying anything further when I remembered he was still Rory's boyfriend. "Look, I appreciate the concern, but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

His mouth fell open, before he straightened up his posture. "You're making a huge mistake."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. In the end it's still my choice." I said with a certain defiance. "Besides, you should be in the dining room with the rest of the guests, with my sister who is also your girlfriend." I pointedly remind him.

Dean gave a stiff nod before he went marching into the dining room. When I no longer saw him, I breathed a sigh of relief. Leaning carefully against the couch in the lobby, I was left wondering about what just happened. 'Why was Dean so concerned with me and Jess?' I knew Dean had a short temper, but this was something beyond normal.

"What is going on with my life?" I muttered with a sigh.

I pushed aside these troublesome thoughts, and headed straight for the dining room. The rumble in my stomach was a given indication of my hunger, and after the day I had? I could definitely use Sookie's cooking to help cheer me up.

 ** _..._**

Everyone was seated in their seats when I walked into the dining room. I went straight for my chair but smiled when I caught Jess' eye. Sadly, I couldn't sit next to him because the chair beside him was occupied by Luke and I was supposed to sit with Lorelai and Rory. I spotted my seat right next to Rory's, quickly taking my seat. My sister looked a little relived when she finally saw me, although I had no idea why.

I give her a questioning look when I noticed her starting at me. "What?"

"You were out there awhile." She wore a small wicked smile.

My cheeks reddened, and I assumed it was because she figured out I was with Jess all this time, which was true. "If I remember correctly, I did say don't wait up."

"And if I remembered correctly, I said I wouldn't." Rory shot back.

"Touché."

I debated if I should tell Rory about my unfortunate run in with Dean, but I decided against it. I didn't want to cause any problems for Rory's relationship, especially since I knew she was completely in love with him or at least that's how it seemed.

Thankfully, Lorelai entered the dining room before I could suffer from any more of Rory's questions.

Mom stands at the head of the table with a camera at hand. "Quiet please, everybody. Before the, uh, button popping and the bloating can commence, say cheese."

My lips automatically form into a smile as I lean in close with Rory when we ready ourselves for the upcoming picture. "Cheese!" Everyone says, before the flash goes off.

Lorelai held the camera in her hands with a satisfied smile. "Uh, now, ladies and gentlemen, damen und herren, um, the moment you've been waiting for, I give you the Bracebridge Dinner."

"Whoa, whoa, hold it." Sookie panted right after she barged into the room. "We just need a quick minute, please."

"Which will be starting in one quick minute." Mom corrected.

Bootsy shook his head. "You ever think about that? You can't have a quick minute because it's always sixty seconds."

Luke groaned. "Shut up."

"Lorelai darling, who is the silver fox with the tight knee socks?" Miss Pattty pointed to one of the waiters.

"Oh, that's Claude. He's one of our regular servers, divorced and on the market." Mom mischievously added the last part.

Miss Patty's cheeks colored slightly at the newfound information as she continued to stare dreamily at Claude. "Oh, well the uniform is interesting."

Lorelai eagerly nodded. "All right. I'll have him bathed, powdered, and sent to your room."

"What? Oh, you joke? Was that a joke?" The older questioned.

Luckily for mom, grandpa cut in before Miss Patty could say any more. "Lorelai, this is just beautiful. It's like something out of Architectural Digest. You should be very proud."

Mom beamed. "Thanks Dad."

"Your dress needs pressing." Grandma stoically voiced, ruining the moment.

"Thanks Mom." Lorelai bitterly smiled as she headed to her sit next to Rory and me. "Your pod Grandpa is still happy as a clam." She whispered to me.

I smiled. "See, I told you this would be a good idea. This will be good for him."

She shrugged. "When you're right, you're right."

Rune was now at the end of the other side of the table, another man with huge horn at his side. "Welcome Lords and Ladies. I call upon these sprightly horns to commence our proceedings." The devastatingly loud horn plays. "Hey Chuck Mangione, you wanna back up a step?" He whispered to the man beside him.

"And we're off." Lorelai grinned.

"And now, fair people, I present my Lord and Master, the honorable Squire Bracebridge." Rune shouted, as fair music begins to play to the Squire's entrance.

I barely held in my laughter when I caught sight of Jackson wearing his Squire costume and taking a seat upon his throne. After all the fight he put up to not play this character, he must've gave in to please Sookie. "Lo! Now has come our joyfullest feast. Let every man be jolly."

The trays of food were now being served, and I gave a questioning look to the food on my plate. "Are you sure this is edible?" I whispered to Rory.

She gave me an innocent shrug, wondering the same thing herself.

"We should've eaten before we came." Jess groaned, but it was loud enough for me to hear.

"Shh! And yeah." Luke silently added.

Jackson was acting very royal like as he beckoned for one of the waiters. "Humble servant, bring us the first course to dine with pleasure. Mmm, methinks it be a butternut squash soup." He gazed at the white colored broth.

"Ah, methinks you're right Squire Bracebridge, thus and verily." Run smiled merrily.

He nodded. "And verily thus."

Lorelai grinned. "They're the Old England Abbot and Costello."

"'Tis perfection, but extremely hot." Jackson said after he took a spoonful of the soup.

Rune went to his Squire's side. "My Lord, do you need aid? Wouldst thou have thee ice thy tongue?"

He shook his head. "Ah nay, Rune, nay. To the guests thou shall serve the soup!"

"What's the white stuff?" Jess looked down at soup, not daring to touch it.

"I think it's cheese- or cream." Luke said with voice devoid of emotion.

"And the green stuff?"

"I think it's.. best picked off." Both reached carefully into the soup and picked at the soup.

Kirk was one of the servers this evening, and quickly came over to us with a tray full of soups. "More soups for mi'ladies?"

"Why thank you, kind sir." Rory smiled as she took another bowl of soup.

Lorelai smirked at Kirk's attire for the evening. "Hey Kirk, nice blouse."

"Ignore her Kirk. You look great." I smiled at him.

Kirk made no sign acknowledgement. "Soup with garlands and rosemary."

"You're gonna stay in character no matter what, huh?" Mom asked.

"'Tis hot, so proceed daintily." Kirk instructed us instead of giving into Lorelai's wishes.

However, knowing my mother, I knew she shouldn't easily give up. "Hey, did you ever see that I Love Lucy where she goes to Buckingham Palace?"

"Mom." I tried.

Lorelai continues. "She tries to get the palace guard to break character. That was a funny one."

Kirk shook his head. "'Tis foreign to me good lady."

"Hang in there, Kirk." Rory tried to encourage him.

"Those ones where she was in Europe, hands down, those were the best!" Lorelai exclaimed offhandedly.

That was the straw that broke the camels.

"No way, the Hollywood ones!" Kirk argued, unintentionally breaking his character.

"Ha!" Mom smiled in victory.

"Damn!" He cursed.

I patted his back in comfort. "We were all rooting for you."

 ** _..._**

The rest of the evening went smoothly after everyone finished their main courses. I wasn't sure if I could ever eat again, but I probably could if I had some recovery time. "My Lord, shall dessert be served?" Rune announced. I hide a groan behind my hand. 'So much for recovery time.'

Jackson gave a humble nod. "Anon, humble servant."

"Can I eat my dessert with the horses?" Clara asked with big puppy dog eyes, my heart practically melted at the sight. Again, how was she related to Dean?

Dean gave her a hesitant smile. "Sure, uh, but put your coat on."

Clara turned to Bootsy, who started to look a little buzzed. "Are you okay?"

"I guess so. I've lost track of how many beers I've had." He grumbled out.

"Seven." I laughed at the younger girl's cheekiness.

The table gathered around to hear another ones of Grandpa life stories. "So there we are, it's a beautiful moonlit Prague night, and we're strolling across the Charles Bridge when we come across this group of kids blasting this song by that.. oh, that awful woman. Who is she? The tall bony one, married to the deceased mustachioed congressman."

"Cher?" I guessed.

Grandma gasped. "That's the one!"

Lorelai chuckled. "The year of 'Do you believe in life after love?'"

"A difficult time for all of us." Rory solemnly voiced.

"It's not that bad of a song." I added.

Richard shook his head. "Well, I was appalled. Prague has played host to some of the greatest composers in history. Mozart named a symphony after it, for heaven's sake. So what did I do?"

Emily bitterly sighed. "I have tried so hard to forget this."

"I stood beside them and their boombox and I hummed Mozart's Prague Symphony as loud as I could." He reveals before he begins to hum the whole song.

"A bizarro Battle of the Bands." Mom slyly grins.

Taylor looked interested in grandpa's story. "And did it work?"

"Well, they quickly packed up and went their way." Grandpa smiled with pride.

Grandma huffed. "But then he kept on humming the Mozart. He wouldn't stop."

"Well, at that point I was hoping for some gullible tourists to drop money at my feet." He defended.

"And two of them did." She revealed.

"And I kept it!"

"You know, this might be the most interesting conversation I've ever had with an insurance man." Taylor admitted, which was pretty shocking to say the least. Usually Taylor was well.. Taylor.

Grandpa clutched a hand to his chest. "Aww, I'm hurt."

Me and Rory were shocked at our grandfather's display, we knew grandpa was a lot less reserved than grandma, but this was just shocking.

"I'm sorry Richard. What I meant was that.." Taylor trailed off uncomfortably.

Grandpa politely smiled. "No, what you meant was that people in the insurance industry are drones. Well I agree. They are a dull, dull lot, and I am glad to be rid of them."

"Rid of them?" Lorelai questioned.

"Oh, are you retired Richard?" Taylor asked genuinely interested.

"Well, uh.."

"Of course he's not." Emily interrupted, but quickly quieted when she noticed the guilty expression on grandpa's face. "Richard? Richard?"

"Actually, I am." Grandpa announced, before he left us in stunned silence.

 ** _..._**

After Dinner was over, all the guests went into their rooms. Soon after, me and Rory did the very same. Lorelai picked a room for the three us, which I didn't have much of problem with, except I was mostly likely going to have to share a bed with Rory. When we made it to our room, all of us decided to get ready for bed. After I washed my face, I took off my dress and put on my white nightgown. With a quick brush of my hair, I turned to face Lorelai and Rory who were already in their sleep wear.

"Ah, it's always nice to end a big festive meal with a big festive pall hanging over the room." Lorelai yawned.

Rory nodded in agreement. "Most people didn't notice anything."

Mom shrugged. "I guess. Bootsy singing Hotel California accompanied by spoons drew people's attention away."

"Speaking of drawing attention.." I cut in. "Is grandpa okay? Did Grandma and Grandpa say a word to each other the rest of the night?"

"No."

"Why didn't he tell anyone?" Rory pouted.

Lorelai eyes widened. "I'm sorry, are you asking me to interpret my parents' motives?"

"My mistake." She sighed before pointing to the two beds in our room. "So which bed do you want?"

"You guys can take the one by the window."

"Okay." I say before I head to my newly appointed bed.

"Mom!"

"What honey?" She asks with a sickly sweet tone.

Rory held up a photo that was placed on our pillows. "You put the picture of the ugly baby in my bed?"

Lorelai wore an innocent face. "I didn't, I swear. That ugly baby is stalking us. Run away!"

"Poor baby, it's not his fault." My sister began stroking the picture.

"I think it's a she." Mom correct.

I shook my head at these two. "You guys are terrible."

"Poor baby, you picked the wrong parents." Rory sighed as we both sat on our bed. "Hey, have you heard from Dad recently?"

My head shot up at the mention of dad. "What dad- your dad?" Lorelai tries to evade the question.

"Yeah, our dad."

"Why do you want to know?" I tried to keep my voice devoid of any emotion.

Rory looked at me in disbelief at what I was saying. "Maybe because he's our dad, and he usually checks in this time of year and he hasn't checked in yet. I mean, I know he's probably busy with Sherry and the new apartment and.." She trailed off when we both noticed the now guilty expression on Lorelai's face.

"What?"

"There may have been a call." Mom admitted slowly.

I was now confused. "There may have been? You don't remember?"

Lorelai bit her bottom lip. "Well things have been so hectic, you know, with the Bracebridge Dinner, and um, building a snowwoman, and planning the ugly baby gag, that took time."

"Mom?"

"Yes, he called! He called, he called, he called and invited you, and it's not too late to go. He called and invited you, so there you go. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, so there." She shouted in a hurried sentence, and if I wasn't so intent on knowing the answer, it probably would have went over my head.

I shot up from my bed. "Wait! He invited us over?"

"Yes, are you deaf?" Mom sounded incredulous.

Rory groaned. "Well it's kinda hard to here you when I'm just trying to separate the gist from the ubububububah."

"Well, the gist is he invited you, okay?" Lorelai was practically sent into hysterics.

"Why didn't he invite me himself?" Rory pouted with big blue eyes.

I scoffed. "Really Rory? That's dad summed up for you. He's probably pretending to be considerate by running it past mom first." I groaned. "God! This is so like him."

"Well maybe he wasn't pretending to be considerate, and actually was being considerate?" She argued.

Lorelai slowly nodded. "Maybe Sarah's right. I wouldn't put it past him to be inconsiderate. The guy doesn't have the greatest track record."

Hurt was written over Rory's face. "Why didn't you tell us this? He's probably waiting for my answer, and holding off making plans."

"Because I have dibs on this time of year with you, not him! Me!" Lorelai yelled. Causing both me and Rory to jump in shock at the sound. It was so very rare when mom yelled at us like this. "And yes, he acknowledged that, and that was cool and all, but still- it stinks! Because he put me in a very difficult position because we were supposed to watch a lot of movies and make fun of Godfather 3, and the thing that I really, really hate about this is.. is the idea of you not hanging out with me because you're hanging out there with your stupid stepmother."

"You're calling Sherry our stepmother now?" I quietly ask.

"Well, she practically is."

Rory shook her head. "You're wigging."

Mom groaned as if she was in pain. "There is something wrong with that woman."

"You don't even know her." She defended.

"You think I'm overreacting?" Lorelai softly asks.

Rory nodded. "I think you're jealous of Sherry."

She scoffed. "Ha, I'm not jealous of Sherry."

"But I understand- your territory has been threatened." My sister throws out offhandedly.

"Excuse me?"

"But relax." Rory tried to calm her. "There are ways to work through situations like this - compromises can be struck."

"Oh, what are you saying?" She gives Rory the 'look'.

"Well, you know, I can still call you Mom, and I'll call her Mommy Sherry." Rory teases.

I gasp at her little joke. "Rory!"

Now it was Lorelai's turn to pout. "Don't be mean."

My sister continued. "And we can split up holidays evenly. Like, I'll be with you on Labor Day..

"Okay." Mom shrugged. I think it was more of an effort to not act like she cared.

".. her on Memorial Day." She finishes.

"Enough."

Rory to continued to push though. "I'll have to find out about her religion though to see how Chanukah will factor into this, unless you want to convert to Judaism and then take over Chanukah for yourself."

Lorelai quickly cuts her off. "I get the point. I overreacted. Please stop."

"I hate to it admit it, but you totally overreacted." I said amusedly enough.

Mom eyes flickered back and forth between Rory and me. "So do you guys want to go and stay with them?"

"I'll have to think about it." Was my sister's answer.

"Sarah?"

I bit my bottom lip in thought. Was I actually crazy for considering this? "I don't know. I'll have to think about it too."

"Do you have to think about it because you know that it's killing me not to know whether you're going or not and you want to torture me like that?" Lorelai tried to joke to lighten the tense mood.

I placed my hand on her shoulder. "No mom, I'm just not sure if I even want to see him."

"Oh."

"It was nice of him to ask though." Rory interjected.

Mom nodded uncaringly. "It was very nice."

"'Cause we are rooting for Dad."

Lorelai shrugged. "We are rooting for him. It was a very nice thing that Christopher offered. I was being a little possessive." She admitted the last part quietly.

"And insanely jealous of his pretty girlfriend." Rory added.

She huffed. "Well, I wanna know if she's good enough for him."

"Me too."

"So there was an altruistic streak to my madness." Lorelai pointed out with a grin.

I laughed. "Yeah, we'll go with that."

There was a knock on the door, that's startled the three of us. "Who could that be?" I ask mom.

She looks just as clueless. "I don't know, I'll right back." Lorelai goes to the door and quickly opens it, standing there is grandma Emily in all her stiff glory. "I need a new room." She said as soon as mom opened the door.

"What?" Lorelai was baffled.

Emily shook her head. "I can't stay in that room."

"There are no other rooms, Mom."

"Well, then I'll go home." Grandma voiced stiffly.

I stood next to Lorelai, and faced the older woman. "Grandma, it's late."

Lorelai firmly nodded. "And pitch black, and the roads are icy. You can't be driving."

"It's just not safe." I added.

"Well, I'm not going back to that room." The older woman began to complain.

Mom sighed impatiently. "I'm guessing you and Dad had it out about the job thing?"

Grandma gave a small nod. "We haven't even spoken since dinner. I'm so upset, I wouldn't know where to begin. And I couldn't take being around him anymore. What he did is inexcusable. Not letting me know he left his job- as if it didn't affect me?"

"Aw mom, try to calm down. Here, take this bed, and Sarah and I will share with Rory." Mom made a compromise.

Emily shook her head. "I'm just a burden."

"You're not a burden, Mom."

"Well, okay, thank you." She paused for affect. "Can I use the mirror in the bathroom for a second?"

Lorelai quickly nodded. "Yes, I'll use the one out here."

I lean against the wall, watching as both my mom and grandma apply cream to their face at the exact same time with the exact same movements and body gestures. "Spooky.."

"Wow, I know right?" Rory murmured beside me.

"What?" Mom was clueless.

"Behold my future." I gestured between her and grandma.

Everyone went to their bed, unfortunately for me it was very uncomfortable laying next to my mother and sister is the very same queen sized bed. If I even tilted over the slightest, I would fall over the edge of the bed.

"How do you turn out the light?" Emily asked when we all settled in.

Mom sighed. "I'll get it." She reached over to her right and turned off the light. My eyes begin to drift close, but I couldn't fall asleep in this sleeping position.

"I still can't believe it." Grandma muttered.

"Try to relax Mom." Lorelai advised.

But grandma instead continues on rambling. "I hope he doesn't sleep because I surely won't."

Mom groaned into her pillow. "Oh, Mom."

"These slippers you have here are hardly one size fits all. They're too big." Emily tries changing the subject.

"Goodnight." Lorelai tries again.

Emily still wouldn't let it go. "It was so irresponsible."

"Maybe he had no choice."

The older woman scoffed. "Of course he had a choice. Go to sleep Lorelai."

"That job was killing him, Mom! It was killing him." Lorelai shouted in frustration. Although, I could understand it, we were all barely getting a wink of sleep after the busy night we had.

Emily sat up and left her bed before putting on her robe. "I'm going for a little walk."

"Grandma, it's late." Rory sleepily argues.

"I'm not tired." The older woman refused to listen and left our room.

"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Gilmore's of our lives." Lorelai mumbled into her pillow.

I got up from the overflowing bed when I heard the door close behind Emily. "Guys, I'm going to check on grandma, make sure she's alright."

"Take the key and come right back." Mom muttered.

"I will." I smiled at her before putting on my own silk robe.

 ** _..._**

I shut the door behind me and quickly scope out the area for grandma. It was weird seeing the inn so quiet at night, almost creepy. I tightened the knot on my robe and continued looking for Emily. I knew she was upset with grandpa, but I've never seen her act like this towards him. She must be really furious with him.

My search went on for a little awhile longer, but I figured she probably went back to her and grandpa's room. I decided to head back in my room since it was getting pretty late and I knew we had to leave early in the morning.

"Guests are not supposed to be out of their rooms at night." A familiar voice behind me called out.

I quickly spun around, only to come face to face with none other than.. "Jess!" I shout in surprise as I try to regulate my heartbeat.

Jess offered me a small crooked smirk. "You're not supposed to be out of your room, you were breaking the rules." He pointed out.

I simply smiled at him. "Well I'm the exception since my mom works here."

"Oh. Throw in the technicality. Sneaky." Jess leaned into my ear to whisper. I barely managed to ignore the sudden chill I felt crawling up my spine.

I cleared my throat, trying to remind myself where I was. "So, where's Luke?"

"Luke?" He questioned, slightly amused. "He's in our room, asleep. The dessert must've really wiped him out."

"Oh.." I paused when I realized we were standing in the middle of the hallway. "And what are you doing out this late, didn't you say it was against the rules to be outside your rooms at this hour."

"I was bored." Jess plainly answered.

"So you decided to break the rules?" I bit my lip to contain a smile.

"Well it as either that or bother Taylor. It wasn't much of a choice." He joked.

I rolled my eyes at him while wearing a teasing grin. "You're too much of a danger fanatic. I'm starting to wonder why I even like you."

Jess eyes slightly darken at my words, and before I knew it he was pressing me up against the wall behind me. "This feels familiar, I'm pretty sure we've had this conversation before but I can't seem to remember how it ended."

"I think you do." I whispered, feeling heat touch my cheeks.

He slowly cups my cheek in his hand, I inhale a sharp intake of breath when I feel his thumb tracing the texture of my bottom lip. The action itself sent my heart racing, and I knew right then and there it was because of Jess. His ability to make me lose all control was his specialty when it came me, and I didn't know if it was okay to have feelings like this for Jess this soon.

My mind turned into a pile of mush when Jess leaned his head down, closer to mine. He was only a breath away from lips and I so desperately wanted him to seal his lips with mine. "You're right, I do." His breath lightly fanning my face, almost as if he was trying to remain in control. Jess was about to steal my lips but I stopped him.

"You called me beautiful." I winced at the first thing that came out my mouth.

He looked slightly confused. "What?"

I bit my lip, but soon regret when I noticed his eyes dart to my mouth. "When we came in after the sleigh ride.. you said I looked beautiful tonight-"

"Sarah..-"

"Why?"

Jess looked at me for a moment, before letting out a dry chuckle. "Look, you know I'm not good with saying romantic things..-"

I give a little laugh. "You got that right." He shot me look that quickly silenced me.

"But that doesn't mean I'm blind or an idiot." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I can clearly see you are a beautiful girl, even if you don't realize it."

My cheeks redden by his words, but I wrapped both my arms around his neck, pressing himself closer to me. "Thank you.. even if it does sound a bit cliché coming from you." Was it my imagination or did I see a bit of red coloring on his cheeks?

Jess groaned. "Can I kiss you now, that way we can ignore the fact that were acting out a scene from all Nicholas Sparks movies?"

"I think it's too late for that now." I tease but I'm interrupted by a pair of lips I easily succumb to.

His kiss instantly sends my pulse into overdrive, all I can focus are his lips pressed against mine in a steamy kiss. There was no doubt in my mind that Jess was an amazing kisser, but to actually experience it was a whole different story altogether.

Jess gently nips at my bottom lip, drawing a sharp gasp from me. He uses this to his advantage and slowly slips his tongue into my mouth. My hand moves from the back of his neck and into his hair as I moan against his lips. Our tongue began doing a swift tango, as we both lose ourselves to the feeling of this kiss. I was well aware of his steamy this kiss was, but at that moment I didn't care.

He draws back for air before connecting our mouths once more. My mouth automatically parts for him as he pressed himself further against me, with his hand tangled into my hair. I knew my lips were going to be seriously bruised, but his mouth was to addicting to ignore. I sigh breathlessly against his mouth when I feel his tongue brush against mine before slowly sucking it his mouth.

I moan against him, tangling my own hands in his hair. I didn't know if Jess knew this or not, but he was slowly driving me crazy. The need to be closer to him was becoming increasingly impossible to ignore. I hadn't even realized Jess untied my robe, until I felt his hand travel to the lower of my back.

"Sarah? Jess?" Both of us froze at the sound of the voice. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Shit.." Jess cursed.

That's when I knew.. we've been caught.

My blood ran cold at the sound of her voice. I quickly push Jess off me and face angry blue eyes. "Mom.." I began, but words the failed me.

Lorelai looked angrily at the both of us. "What the hell Sarah? I left our room to look for you since you were taking awhile to get back, only to find you sucking faces with him?"

I flinched at her tone. "I wanted to tell you.."

"Tell me what?" Her blue eyes widened when she noticed our tangled hands. "So, this wasn't a one time thing.."

"No..-"

She cut me off. "How long?"

"How long what?" I asked quietly.

"How long have you been lying to me?" Lorelai repeated with a hollow tone.

I sighed helplessly. "A little over two weeks.."

"Two weeks? You've kept this from me for two weeks?" Hurt was written all over her features. "I thought- you promised me you would tell me when..-"

Tears began to well up, and I didn't want Jess to be in the middle of this argument. "Jess you better go back to your room, I'll see you in morning." I whisper to him with a weak smile.

He opens his mouth to object, but Lorelai immediately stops him. "No! He stays here, he's the reason behind this."

"That's not true!" I argued. "This is exactly why I didn't tell you."

Mom looked affronted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't tell you about Jess because I knew you were going to freak out like this!" I practically scream.

"Don't you think I have a good reason to freak out like this?" She argues back.

I groaned. "No, I get that you're mad that I lied about this. I can understand why you're angry with me about that. But you've met Jess only once and have already labeled him as bad news with bad baggage."

"Sarah.." Jess tried to console me, but I didn't let him.

"No, it's true." A few stray tears escaped but I remained calm nonetheless. "Mom, I hated lying to you. Believe me, I did. Every single day that I did it, I hated it and I hated the guilt that came along with it. But you have to understand that I never meant for this to happen.." My chest was beginning to heave with sobs.

Lorelai blinked back a few tears of her own. "Sarah, yes I'm deeply hurt and upset. Especially about this whole Jess thing, but I could have moved past that. What hurts the most is that.." Her eyes held unshed tears. "My own daughter lied to me. We used to be able to tell each other everything but now.. I don't know."

My heart broke from her words. "Mom please-"

"I need time to wrap my head around this.." She turned away from me. "I'll see you in the morning."

I swallow down the large lump in my throat, but I give her a wordless nod. That's all I can manage right now. When I hear the door close behind her, I lean tiredly against Jess. I give him a weak smile when I feel his hand stroke my hair in a smoothing manner. "Thanks.."

"No problem." He presses a kiss against the crown. "I guess she knows now.."

"I didn't want her to find out like this." I whisper into his chest. It came out slightly muffled but I'm sure he heard it clearly.

"I know, but I'm sure you'll work things out between you two." Jess said wisely.

I look up at him. "And how do you know that?"

He shrugged with a small smirk. "You're a Gilmore. It's in your blood."

A small laugh escapes. I feel slightly better with Jess at my side, and it helped that I wasn't alone. "Thank you.."

"You're welcome." He brushes a strand of hair away from my face. "I think we've had enough excitement tonight. You better head to bed."

"Already trying to get rid of me?" I weakly tease.

Jess shook his head. "I don't think I could, even if I tried."

That made me smile. I leaned up and pressed a small kiss against his lips. "Goodnight Jess."

"Goodnight Sarah." He whispered into my lips.

I held in a deep breath as I made my way back to my room, not before glancing at Jess one more time. Unlocking the door slowly, I enter my room and noticed mom sleeping alone, although I knew she was pretending to sleep. I wanted nothing more than to hug her tightly and apologize but I was too tired and it was getting late.

I got into bed with Rory, hoping I didn't wake her.

However, luck was not on my side tonight. Once I laid my head on the pillow, blue eyes snap open. I tried not to look at her, but I needed my sister right now. "Hey, mom came back upset. What happened?"

"I-It's my fault.." I whispered to her.

"How?"

I groaned. "Rory, please. I'll tell you in the morning." I beg her with big hazel eyes.

She nodded. "You promise."

"I promise."

 ** _..._**

 ** _[The Very Next Morning..]_**

"So mom knows about you and Jess?" Rory asked after the stunned silence.

I nodded. "Yep."

"Wow.. that sucks." She mutters. "How did she find out?"

My cheeks reddens with warmth as I recall last night events. "She uh.. found me and Jess.."

"Mom found you with Jess?" Rory looked amused. "She couldn't have just assumed and figured it out there, what happened?"

I groaned loudly in embarrassment. "Okay fine! She caught me and Jess making out in the hallway! There I said it!"

Rory's blue eyes widened in shock. "Sarah, are you insane? Someone could have seen you."

A bitter laughs leaves me. "Apparently."

"Wow.."

"You really need to stop saying that." I leaned my head against the wall behind me.

My sister looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, but seriously? Jess must be a fantastic kisser if he was able to distract you like that."

"Oh you have no idea.."

"So what now? Is mom giving you the silent treatment?" Rory asks me.

I was sat there with a clueless face. "I don't know, she wasn't in our room this morning. I assumed she went downstairs to check out the rest of the guests."

"That could be good news!" She exclaimed.

I shot her a look of disbelief. "How so?"

"Maybe she's calmed down some since she woke up."

"I don't know.."

"Sarah, this is mom we're talking about." Rory grabbed both my hands. "She's just hurt right that you kept dating Jess a secret, she'll get over it. Trust me."

"How do you know?" I found myself asking.

Rory grinned. "I had a similar problem with Dean when we first started going out. Mostly because mom wasn't ready for me to have a boyfriend. But we talked it out and work things out, I'm sure it'll work out for you too."

I bitterly laugh. "Says you. Mom actually likes your boyfriend. She despises mine."

"Well Jess is Jess."

"Yep. Jess is Jess." I smiled at Rory, because talking to her did help a lot more than I expected. I could only pray she was right about mom cooling off after last night.

Rory smiled back at me. "Come on, we better get out things and leave the room before someone gets us."

"Right." I got my things, which was just a light red suitcase for my clothes. Today, I wore simple clothes. Light blue jeans with a white wool sweater and brown heeled boots, I didn't feel like wearing a dress in the cold and this made more practical sense to wear. My hair was styled into a low ponytail, with a few strands framing my face. Mostly because I didn't want my hair all over the place today in this windy weather.

"You ready?"

I nod. "Yeah, I got all my things."

My sister grabs her yellow suitcase. "Well come on, I'm dying to get home."

"Back to studying huh?"

Rory laughs. "You're hanging around Jess too much."

"Hey!" I threw my toothbrush at her, but it goes over her head when she ducks under.

 ** _..._**

The lobby was full of guests and suitcases, mostly because they were preparing to leave and go back to their own homes. I didn't realize how many people actually had came until I looked around the lobby.

"See ya Bootsy." Rory waved at the hungover male.

Bootsy groaned. "See ya, thanks. By the way, last night did I sing Hotel California?"

Rory nodded with a grin. "From beginning to end."

"While banging spoons on your head." A familiar voice interjected.

He rubbed a particular spot on the back of his head. "Well that explains the lumps."

"Bye." Lorelai gave him a polite smile.

I swallowed the lump that was threatening to form. I so desperately wanted to talk to Lorelai, but I knew she was busy at the moment. That and the fact I was scared. Scared that she wouldn't see me as.. me anymore. I felt Rory give me a comforting squeeze on my shoulder.

"Lorelai, darling, oh thank you for everything." Missy Patty widely smiled.

Mom smiled back at the older woman. "Patty, your timing is excellent. There's Claude over there. Want me to do some matchmaking?" she gestured to one of the servants from last night.

Miss Patty shook her head with a small pout. "Aww, he's wearing a golf shirt and cotton Dockers."

"So it was the uniform, huh?" She lightly joked.

"Aw, it's the Biloxi Naval phase all over again."

Lorelain tended to some other guests, but stopped when she caught sight of grandma. "Hey Mom. You didn't make it back to the room last night. Did you get lucky?"

"Could you be any cruder?" Emily looked slightly disgusted.

Mom nodded at the rhetorical question. "Yeah, I can be cruder. Hey mom, did you get la.."

I quickly come in and stop Lorelai from putting her foot further into her mouth. "Thanks for coming! It was fun. Is everything okay?"

Grandpa came over before giving me a brief smile. "Everything's okay."

"We'll see you next Friday." Grandma reminded the three of us.

Mom nodded with a sarcastic smile. "Bye. Bye Dad."

"Bye Lorelai."

I noticed Sookie bring a glass of water over to a sweating Jackson. I barely held the small 'ew' that threatened to escape me. "You just had one grub too many. Just drink lots of water to rehydrate."

"I will." He could barely nod.

"Jackson, thank you for being our Squire." Lorelai said sincerely.

Jackson waved it off. "Oh, you're welcome. Hey, uh, by the way, last night when Bootsy was singing Hotel California and banging spoons on his head, did I.."

"Lift up your shirt and play drums on your stomach? Yes you did." She automatically answered with a teasing grin.

He groaned in embarrassment. "Oh boy."

"You kept a good beat." Rory added unhelpfully.

Sookie tried nodding in agreement. "Yeah, 'cause God knows if the beat was off, you'd have embarrassed yourself."

I smiled when I see Clara having problems with buttoning up her coat. I walk over to hear with a helpful smile. "Need any help?"

The blonde girl looks up at me with a smile. "Yes please."

Reaching forward, I button all the buttons on her jacket and make sure her scarf was firmly wrapped around her neck for protection against the cold. "There all done." I said once I was finally done.

"Thanks Sarah." She smiled at me.

Her smile was so infectious, I couldn't help but give her one back. "No problem."

Rory strolled towards us with Dean at her side. I tried to ignore the floppy haired boy the best I could, for Rory's sake. "Clara, I'm glad you came." Rory smiled at the little girl.

"So I'll see you later." Dean said to my sister.

Clara pouted. "Don't kiss." I laughed, before for one, I agreed with her.

"Aw, come on." He whined.

"Don't kiss." She repeated.

Dean sneakily covered Clara's eyes with his hands and leans down to give Rory a swift kiss on the lips. I see her smile into the kiss, and it makes me almost want to gag, but I held it in for her. Well for as long as I could.

"Come on." The young blonde groaned as she tried to yank down on his arm.

He sighed and relented for his sister's sake. "So I guess we're off."

Rory nods, although she does look disheartened for a second. "I guess so."

My eyes darts to the other side of the room when I feel watchful eyes on me. I soon relax when I realized it was Jess flashing me his familiar crooked smirk. I felt a smile touch my lips when I saw him. I gave him a shy wave, which he returned. I pout at the sight of it. 'Why does he make everything look so cool?'

"Bye you guys. Ugh, let's go home." Lorelai's voice snapped me out of my daze.

I lick my lips nervously, preparing myself to talk to her. "Mom, listen about last night-"

She quickly cut me off before I could even say anything further. "Sarah, I'm not upset anymore."

"But-"

"I know. We said a lot of things last night, but I had time to cool down and realized you were right about some of those things.. even if I hate to admit it." Mom voiced as she grabbed both my hands. "Sure I'm still disappointed that you lied and kept this from me, but I still love you."

"Oh mom." I sighed in relief and pulled her into a tight hug which she returned. I felt like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. "I was just so worried that you would be so upset at that fact that I chose to date Jess. I was hesitant when I told Rory."

Lorelai's head snapped up and her eyes went straight to Rory's. "You knew about her and Jess?"

"Uh.. sorry?" She tried.

"Mom it's not her fault. She caught Jess and I kissing in front of the house when we first starting.. dating." I added the last part with a red cheeks.

"We young lady are going to have some serious talks about where you and Jess decide to make out." Lorelai teased. "But before we do, I'm going to need a huge cup of Luke's coffee."

"Deal." I knew that she meant we weren't don't talking about this by a long shot, but I did feel a lot more better now since I knew mom and me were sorta back to normal. If we were ever normal in the first place.

Rory smiled at the both of us. "I'm happy you two made up, but are we coming to get our bags later?"

"Why?" Mom asks.

"Because we're walking home. I don't want to carry 'em." My sister whines with pout.

Lorelai smiles mysteriously. "Who says we're walking?" She then begins leaving the inn and gestures for us to go follow her.

Rory and I look confused at each other before trailing after her.

 ** _..._**

 ** _[OUTSIDE THE INN]_**

There was a horse-drawn sleigh waiting for us in front of the inn. My mouth fell open in shock as I realized this is what mom meant. "Wow.."

"This is the only way to ride." Lorelai pointed the beautiful horses.

Rory eagerly nodded. "I wholeheartedly agree."

We all settle into the horse-drawn sleigh, and before you know it the drive beckoned the horses to move forward. We were passing by the snowmen's everyone had built for Taylor's snowman contest when I heard mom gasp. "Whoa, what happened there?" She gestured to what had once been a beautiful snow sculpture was now a pile of mashed snow.

"I have no idea." Rory whistles when she takes in the bashed in snow sculpture.

A certain bored intelligent bad boy comes to mind. "I think I do."

Lorelai gives an excited smiles. "Bad news for ringer guy. But guess who wins by default?"

"I guess that would be us."

'And now I have a certain someone to thank.' I secretly smile to myself as we rode happily in the snow.

 _Don't wait, don't wait, don't wait for too long,_

 _Don't say, don't say, don't say a word!_

 _Don't wait, don't wait, don't wait for too long,_

 _Don't say, don't say, don't say a word!_


	4. The Boyfriend Dilemma

_**The cast of Gilmore Girls: Kiss me in The Meadows**_

 _ **Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano**_

 _ **Dianna Agron as Sarah Gilmore**_

 _ **Alexis Bledal as Rory Gilmore**_

 _ **Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore**_

 _ **Scott Patterson as Luke Danes**_

 _ **Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James**_

 _ **Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore**_

 _ **Edward Herrmann as Richard Gilmore**_

 _ **Prologue:** Meet the beautiful Sarah Gilmore, daughter of Lorelai Gilmore and sister to Rory Gilmore. Sarah is the sweetheart of Stars Hollow along with her sister, but when Sarah meets Jess the intelligent bad boy, things quickly heat up between the two and love ensues. What happens when these two people from two different worlds fall in love? Sparks fly and people fall in love, but is love enough for them to overcome those against them?_

 _ **The love story of the Rebel and the Princess.**_

 _ **Theme song for Episode Four of Kiss me in The Meadows: Make Up Your Mind by Florence + The Machine**_

* * *

 _I never thought that I'd be facing_

 _A sea that's bluer than the tide_

 _Now my knees are shaking_

 _And I can't look in your eyes_

 _But if you're gonna make me do it_

 _How'd you want it done?_

 _Is it best to sip it slowly_

 _Or drink it down in one?_

 _Every time I try to bring it down_

 _You always turn my head around_

 _ **Sarah**_

 **IN THE MIDDLE OF STARS HOLLOW**

The sun was shining brightly on this cool crisp day, where beautiful burgundy leaves were falling from the usually green trees. It was still a very nice day, compared to the snowy weather from last week. The townspeople were sent into a overdrive of excitement because of Stars Hollow upcoming event "Bid on a Basket" fundraiser. There were signs surrounding the gazebo in the middle of town, and I assumed that's where the fundraiser will be held this year.

I was never this excited for the "Bid on a Basket" event as I was this year, mostly because I never had a basket to make for someone other than mom and Rory. But this year was different, I actually had someone I could continue the tradition with. I smiled with that thought in mind and continued walking with Lorelai and Rory to Doose's Market.

Today was such a nice cool day, I decided to wear a white knitted sweater with light blue jeans and white tennis shoes. I made sure to add an extra layer of warmth by putting on my red jacket on top but decided to leave it unzipped. My hair was left down in its usual long locks, with a red hairband to prevent my hair from flying all over the place since it was still a bit windy outside.

Doose's Market was very busy, and I had a feeling it had to do with everyone preparing for the "Bid on a Basket" fundraiser. The market was filled with people shopping for delectable foods and snacks to prepare their basket with. Lorelai pulled both Rory and I's hand as she lead us through the sea of people as we looked for the remaining baskets, surprisingly enough there was a large sum left in stock.

"Wow.." I whistle impressively as I gaze upon the beautiful handcrafted picnic baskets.

Lorelai looked just as amazed. "I didn't think there would still be a lot left.." She paused with a shrug. "Oh well. It gives us plenty of more options."

"Right." I nodded in agreement before I reached forward for a basket to inspect. Both mom and Rory followed in suite as they each inspected a basket of their own.

"So I've decided I'm saving myself for William Holden." Was the first thing that left Lorelai's mouth.

Rory smiled amusedly enough. "Wow, it's nice out here in left field."

"Hey, I'm sorry." Mom looked anything but apologetic. "Sunset Boulevard was on last night, and I don't know.. I've known him for years – Sabrina, Stalag 17 – and yet last night something snapped."

I barely manage to muffle a laugh. "You think?"

"I think it was the monkey scene." She muttered.

"You know he's dead, don't you?" I interjected.

"The monkey?"

"William Holden!" Both me and Rory shout.

Lorelai groaned, but I caught the twinkling amusement shining in those big bright blue eyes. "Ugh, every great relationship has its obstacles. You'd know that if you weren't dating Andy Hardy."

Rory shook her head before she lifted up a big beige basket, in my opinion it looked a bit too plain and boring, although it was overly large for snacked goods. "This one?"

"Hm, no." Mom answered.

"Why?"

"It's too big, it raises expectations."

"Like there's actually a home-cooked lunch in there?" My sister questioned.

Mom nodded. "Instead of whatever is leftover in our refrigerator - exactly."

That immediately made Rory place the basket down from where it came from. "Okay, going back in the pile now."

I rolled my eyes. "You guys are terrible, I don't see what's so bad about actually baking this year for your basket, especially when you two are so insistent on being lazy and relying on the empty fridge at home."

"Oh, it's quaint, isn't it? The women get to make a nice lunch basket, the men get to bid on it, and the world rotates backwards on its axis." Lorelai smiles bitterly at her own words.

"Well I think it's fun and I think YOU'RE overreacting." I teasingly shot back before I lifted up a small oak colored basket that held some of my interest.

She scoffed. "That's because you have a pretty bad boy to bid on your basket."

I instantly spun around at my mother's words when they left her mouth. I was literally so taken aback by the whole thing, I didn't know how to react to the fact that Lorelai had actually acknowledged that I had a boyfriend. Even if she hadn't quite gotten used to me and Jess.. yet. It reminded me of the 'serious' talk we had the day after we left the inn after the whole 'Bracebridge Dinner fiasco' when mom caught me and Jess together.

 _ **FLASHBACK:**_

I felt my stomach begin to coil up in nerves when we first got back home, my hands were wringing themselves together as sweat began to form on the palms of my hands. Rory shot me a supportive smile before quickly darting upstairs, leaving me alone with.. mom.

Now Lorelai wasn't usually intimidating, in fact she was far from it, but right now it was so difficult to look at her without feeling any guilt. Because I knew I was guilty for lying to her about me and Jess, and keeping my love life a secret from her wasn't exactly the best idea.

"So.." She began unsteadily.

"I'm dating Jess!" Was the first thing I blurt out. I cursed myself for letting my nerves get the best of me, especially at a time like this.

"Oh."

"Yeah.."

There was an uncomfortable silence that settled in between us, and I wasn't so sure how I should approach this or if I should wait for Lorelai to at least say something first. I hated the fact that I hurt her by not trusting her enough to not freak out about my love life.

"Sarah.." Lorelai sighed. "Look, you know I hate fighting with you and while this situation isn't completely ideal.. I have to admit you were right about a few things."

I was baffled. "What?"

She smiled briefly. "You were right.. about me not giving Jess a chance. I judged him a little too quickly when he first came over and while he still acted like a major jerk, I should've read better into it and given him a second chance. Especially since I know what it's like to have unbearable parents." I slowly smile at her admission when I feel a little bit of weight being lifted off my shoulders, but I did let my hope deflate a bit when she continued. "But, I am or was upset when I found out you kept this from me. I mean, walking in on you and Jess making out isn't exactly on my to-do list but neither is my own daughter keeping her love life a secret from me.. do you not trust me enough? Do I smother you too much? Oh god, I'm turning into my mother aren't I-"

I quickly interrupted her. "Mom, Its not like that at all. You aren't like grandma, I was just too scared to tell you because I was so worried you would think I'm completely insane for taking a chance with Jess.."

"Sarah, I just told you-"

"Mom." I stop her. "You would have freaked and probably would have told me to stay away from Jess before he corrupted me or something along the lines of that."

"W-what? Pssh! No way!" She sputtered out. I shot her a look that said 'I-don't-believe-you' "Oh okay, fine! You got me! But he is your regular James Dean."

I laughed a little at her reaction. "That might be true, but Jess is trying with me." I paused. "I really like him, I really do. And I don't want what I have with Jess to affect our relationship, because I'm still going to need you around for advice.. nothing has changed mom."

"But it's Jess." Lorelai weakly argued.

"And If I'm remembering correctly, you first had a problem with Rory dating Dean before you agreed to give him a chance." I shot back.

"Well I actually like Dean."

I rolled my eyes. 'I can't say the same.' "You like him because he makes Rory happy." I corrected her. I sigh quietly. "Mom what's this really about? Why are you so against me dating Jess, besides his trouble making ways?"

"I-I don't.." I saw her swallow down a lump of tears shining in those beautiful blue eyes. "You girls are growing up way too fast for me.. before you know it both of you will be in college making new friends and having lives and I'll be here.. alone." My mouth opened to say something, but she held her hand up to stop me. "I'm so proud of you guys, you made being a mom so enjoyable and I have never been more proud to be called your mom. It was so hard to accept that Rory was growing up and dating.. but I knew it was a part of life. Now you're doing the same and it's harder for me to accept this because I know both my babies are grown up."

"Oh mom.." A few tears manage to slip down pass my cheeks.

"If my babies are going to grow up, I want to make sure both of you don't get heartbroken when you go into the real world and deal with things like love and adult things.." She softly spoke. "I just don't want you to regret this thing you have with Jess."

I hadn't realized that my mom's fear went this far back. My heart pounded in my chest as I swallowed her words whole, there was no doubt in my mind that Lorelai was simply looking out for my welfare. It was only natural for her to do so.. she was my mom. My hero, if I was honest. "Then you have to trust me on this.. if you trust Rory with Dean, you have to trust me with Jess."

There as a beat of unspoken silence.

Lorelai blew a small sigh before letting a small smile appear. "You're right. Since when did you get so wise and decide to grow up?"

"Since I had an amazing role model to look up to." I smile as I brush away a few tears. Lorelai pulls me into an tight hug which I immediately return. There was a comfortable silence that settled between us.

Well.. until mom broke it.

"You know, I'm not going to make it easy for him. He's going to have to earn my trust and prove he's good enough for you." She said into my hair.

Laughter began to bubble from me. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"Good." She wiped at her eyes before moving back from me. "Now that we're done with talking about this, why don't you get your sister from upstairs so we can head to Luke's. I've been dying for a cup of coffee ever since we got back."

"I'm totally there!" I jumped onto my feet and dashed upstairs for Rory. But I stopped before I went any further. "Hey mom?"

Lorelai turned towards me when I was at the head of the staircase. "Yeah?"

"Thanks.. for being you." I say with a smile.

My mom's lip tilted into a big smile but I did notice the unshed tears shining in her eyes. "Well I am pretty awesome. Now hurry up and get your sister, I need to bother Luke!"

"You got it missy." I wink at her before trudging upstairs.

 ** _END OF FLASHBACK_**

"Yes I do." I beam widely at her.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Did you at least tell him to eat lunch first? I might not be too crazy on the guy, but that doesn't mean I want Jess to die of food poisoning."

"That's if she doesn't burn down the house first." Rory snickered.

I pretended to look hurt by their playful jabs. "Hi, I like him, I'm actually going to try baking this year. Unlike the two of you, who have decided the best way to go is spoiled food from the refrigerator back home." My eyes focused into the back of the aisle when I saw a familiar figure walk over towards the end. "Hey, I'm going to look in the back for more baskets."

"Ah, the divide and conquer method! I like it." I gave Lorelai a blank stare before she relented with a loud groan. "All right, I'll hit the front." Was all she said before she went off to the front of the store, only to bump into Miss Patty.

I turned to Rory who was anxiously looking around for a basket. "Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah.. I'm just trying to find a basket for Dean. It's kinda hard." She muttered the last part.

"I'm sure whichever one you get, Dean will be happy about it. Don't stress yourself over this, after all it's still a fundraiser." I patted her arm and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Rory smiled a little at that. "You're right.. thanks for preventing a meltdown."

"No problem." I look to the back of the aisle. "Now I'm going to scavenge for some more baskets, I'll be right back." I waited after she nodded to leave. My feet began moving on they're own accord until I reached the back of the aisles. I sighed in relief when I spotted plenty of extra picnic baskets neatly stacked in arranged colors from dark browns to wooden oak.

However, my eyes drifted to a familiar figure who was standing right in front of rows of glue sticks. My lips lifted up at the entertaining scene before me but I moved my feet quietly against the polished floor until I was behind him. "Need any help?" I voiced out.

Jess body slightly tenses at the sound of my voice before he spins around to face me. His mouth forms the same crooked smirk I absolutely adored. "Well.. I think you might be able to help me. I'm looking for my beautiful girlfriend, y'know a really short girl with big hazel eyes and long brown hair. A real stunner. Have you seen her?"

The heat in my cheeks inflamed at his rather obvious compliment. "I can't say that I have but I don't think you'll have much luck finding her in the glue sticks."

"You might have a point." He chuckled. "Well now you know what I'm here for, I'm assuming your here to buy a basket like everyone else?"

"Oh." I readily blush. "You know.. Stars Hollow is holding a 'Bid on a Basket' fundraiser, and it's been tradition for us Gilmore women to make these baskets and auction it off. Usually, I'd make Luke buy my basket but now since I have a boyfriend I was kind of hoping.." I trailed off unsurely.

".. That I'd buy your basket." Jess finishes for me.

I swallowed a nervous gulp. "Yeah.."

"Huh."

"I-It was just a suggestion though, you don't have to buy my basket.. I'm sure Luke will be more than willing enough to buy mine-" I was cut off by a familiar pair of lips but I slowly found myself relaxing under the kiss as his mouth molds perfectly with mine.

Jess slowly moves his face back from mine with his smirk still intact. "And who said I didn't want to buy your basket?"

"Well I just assumed that you would think this tradition is stupid and all.." I mumbled the last part with an embarrassed blush.

He gave a throaty chuckle. "I think a lot of things in this town are stupid but when it involves you, I'll tolerate it." I shuddered when I felt his hand brush against the side of my face. "Besides, I'm not that much of a bad boyfriend."

I pretended to think about it. "Hm.. I don't know. You do have your moments."

"You know, I do take my boyfriend duties quite seriously." Jess teased as his hand trailed down to my hips.

"So I've noticed." I say to him with a slight snotty tone, but he knew it was all in good fun. I hadn't even realized how close we were until I felt my back hit the shelves behind me. "Jess-" I begin to warn him but I was quickly silenced when he slammed his lips against mine in a quick but heated kiss that sent ripples of electricity down my spine. My arms immediately wrap themselves around his neck to pull him closer, while his hands tangle themselves deep into my long tresses.

The meshing of our lips continued a bit more until I broke away from his mouth. I sigh happily against his mouth after giving him one last peck of the lips. "It feels so good to not have to hide anymore."

Jess grinned at my breathless state. "It is a lot more easier than sneaking around." His eyes scanned my face. "How is Lorelai handling all this?"

"A lot better than expected." I answer him honestly but I noticed the look on his face that read 'I-don't-believe-you'. "Jess, I'm telling you the truth. Yes, she's still getting used to the idea but she's slowly learning to accept us."

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

I look at him in utter disbelief. "Have you forgotten I'm the world's worse liar?"

"You aren't wrong about that." He muttered.

I give him a playful slap to the shoulder before I focused solely on finding a picnic basket. "This is a lot harder than I thought." I bit my bottom lip as I took in each and every basket, but nothing really spoke to me. I figured that I should just pick a random basket, which I did.

Jess wrapped his arms around my waist pulling my body flushed against him. "Not that one."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I figured you wouldn't care too much about which basket I picked. And second, you get no say in said basket."

"Don't I have the right to? I'm the one bidding on the stupid thing." He playfully nipped at my ear.

"And you have to eat what's inside it and you get no say in that either." I giggled against him, pressing my lips to the underside of his jaw.

Jess smirked when I mentioned the food part. "Should I be worried?"

"Worried about what?" I tried to act nonchalant.

"If I'm gonna die from food poisoning, I at least want to prepare myself." That earned him a playful slap to the chest.

"And to think I liked you." I snarked.

"I can give you a few more reasons to like me." Jess flirted. I breathlessly sigh when I feel his lips brush against mine once again, however we were both interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat.

Jess and I slowly turned around, only to see an annoyed Dean with Rory at his side. 'This can't be good..' "Uh.. hey guys.." I weakly smile at them.

Rory mouth quirked up into a big grin. "So this is why you went to the back. I didn't know looking for baskets required making out with Jess."

My cheeks inflamed by her teasing words. "Okay, you caught me red handed. I'm guilty in that department." My own lips formed into a grin. "But it looks like I'm not the only one who had the same idea."

"Touché."

There was an uncomfortable silence that settled between the four of us, especially between Jess and Dean. It wasn't exactly secretive when I noticed the hostility they shared for each other, but Jess managed to keep his smirk intact when he continued to stare down Dean. For the life of me, I didn't know exactly when this animosity began to occur between the two. Nor did I know why Dean acted this way towards Jess, it almost as if he was.. 'No! I won't think like that. This is Rory's boyfriend after all and Dean is just being a jerk.'

"What are you doing here Jess?" Dean glared at my boyfriend. "Can't you go somewhere else?"

"Dean!" Rory hissed as she shot both me and Jess apologetic looks.

Jess simply smirked in response. "I was just in the neighborhood shopping for some glue."

Dean scoffed. "You're in the wrong aisle."

"Well, you're having your vertical From Here to Eternity moment right in front of the super glue." Jess pointed out, and he was right. While Jess and I were inspecting the baskets, Rory and Dean were now in front of the stacks of glue sticks.

"Oh." My sister gasped out.

Jess wagged his finger in a condescending manner. "Not that that's not an appropriate place to be doing it in front of but-"

"Here's your glue." Dean grumbled out as he threw a tube of glue at Jess.

He easily caught it before inspecting it. "Thanks. As you were." He didn't say anymore until I felt Jess' hand pulling me with him as walked into the front of the store.

I was still at a loss. "What was all that about?" I asked with a slight tremble in my voice.

"What was what?"

"That!" I exclaimed as I pointed to the back aisle. "What is going on with you and Dean? I mean, I could practically feel the tension radiating off between the two of you-"

Jess looked stunned for a moment before his eyes scanned my face. "You really have no idea, do you?"

I was starting to get a bit annoyed. "If I did, I wouldn't have asked you."

"Look, just forget it. Dean's an idiot, I can't help it if I want to piss the guy off." Jess stated with a little bit of humor.

An amused look took over my features. "I could've figured that out by myself."

He chucked before leaning down for a kiss. "I better go pay for this, I'll see you later tonight for movie night?" I knew it was his way of changing the subject, but I'll let it go for now since this was exactly good place to talk about it.

"Definitely." I kissed him shortly but I looked at him questionably when he handed me a small chestnut brown basket with red ribbons tied beautifully together on the handles.

"Get that one, it.. fits you." Jess kissed me one more time before he disappeared. I saw him heading to the back of the aisle.

"Hey!" I called out to him. "Check out is that way." I pointed to the other side of the aisles.

He simply smirks at me. "I have to pay back Dean for interrupting us somehow, don't I?"

I let a beaming smile slip onto my face as I went to search for Lorelai. 'Yep. My boyfriend was definitely an evil mastermind.'

 ** _Jess_**

 ** _[Later that night..]_**

 **LUKE'S DINER [Luke's Apartment]**

"So what will it be tonight?" I went over to the average sized TV while Sarah finished microwaving the popcorn.

"I don't know, what are the options for tonight's screening?" She asked once she sat down on the couch with a bowl of freshly heated popcorn in her lap.

Taking the remote in my hand, I flip through the channels and hope for something that was at least watchable. I stopped when I saw a familiar 80's movie, I knew Sarah would love. "I'm kinda leaning towards an original cult classic with the brat pack."

Sarah looked suspicious before her eyes flickered to the tv screen. "You want to watch the Breakfast Club?"

"Well.. yeah." I noticed the amused smile on her lips. "What? What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing." She said quickly. "I didn't think you would be interested in 80's movies."

"I'm just full of surprises." I smirked in response. I plop down on the seat beside her and feel her body slightly adjust to lay comfortably against me. I hug her body to my chest since I didn't mind being her human pillow, it was nice feeling her pressed against me like this. 'No complains here..'

The movie began and surprisingly it was interesting enough to hold my attention. I figured it would be a typical 80's movie but there was a little more depth than that. Five high school students from different spots of the social pyramid are stuck in their school library for detention on a Saturday. But there was more to it, all of them had their own fair share of problems and issues even if they were popular, a troublemaker, a jock or simply nonexistent.

We were currently at the part where John Bender, the criminal (Judd Nelson's character) was annoying the entire group, especially Claire Standish, the princess (Molly Ringwald's character) and questioning her about her virginity and relationships.

I felt Sarah body tremble with laughter as we watched the scene. After a few more giggles, I decided I had enough. "What's so funny?"

She looks up at me with a teasing smile. "You really don't see it?"

"See what?"

"You're practically Judd Nelson's character." Sarah threw her head back in laughter.

I shoot her a small glare. "You're joking right? I am nowhere near like him, besides it's just a lame movie."

"It may be just a movie, but that doesn't make it any less true." She popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth.

"Humor me." I gestured to Judd Nelson's character tv and watched him play with his lighter and smoke. I cringed when I realized exactly what she meant but I wouldn't let her know that.

Sarah removed the popcorn from her lap and placed it beside her before she turned to me. "Okay, I can give dozens of reasons but let's start with the obvious first." Her hands ran themselves through my hair, I had to bite back a groan that threatened to escape. "Jess, let's face it. You like being an unsolvable mystery, you try to push every one away who tries to help you because you think it's easier." I felt her fingers slowly trace my jawline. "And.. you're used to being alone and learning to fend for yourself.." Sarah whispered the last part, but I heard her clearly. I stared down at those big beautiful hazel eyes that were shining with unshed tears.

I chuckle dryly. "And here I thought the only thing we had in common was smoking." I tried making light of the subject.

"Jess.." She began with a warning tone I was all too familiar with.

"Hey, where is all this coming from?" I cupped both her cheeks. "No need to get sentimental on me. Geez, I didn't think watching this movie would affect you this much."

That earned me a playful slap to the chest. "Not funny. The Breakfast Club makes you feel and think about things.."

"Does those things include over analyzing my life?" I shot her a look.

Sarah looked a bit guilty and I noticed the embarrass blush on her cheeks. "I'm sorry.. I just wish you would open up to me more. I know it's tough for you to trust someone and I don't blame you, but I'm here for you if you ever want to talk about anything. Whether it's about your past, or what's going on in the daily life of Jess, or even.. Liz." The mention of mom's name did anger me a bit, but I knew Sarah meant to bring this up with good intentions. 'Damn it, she's so.. good and pure.'

I push away a lock of hair away from her face before cupping her red cheeks. "Sarah, you have nothing to worry about, I'm still here aren't I?" I stopped when I saw the slight disheartened look on her face. "I'll tell everything.. eventually." I slowly added.

"You better." I caught the small smile on her beautiful face.

"Now can I have my girlfriend back?" I smirked at her.

Sarah bit her bottom lip. "I hadn't realized I was even gone." She whispered each word with a lower tone before her lips were planted firmly against mine, I wasted no time in kissing her back.

Pulling her body flushed against me, I meshed my mouth against her and fisted my hand into her hair. Her little breathless sighs and moans slowly driving me crazy, I could myself looking the little bit of control I still had left. Although, Sarah didn't seem to mind our current suspicion.

I was taken aback when I felt her tongue shyly brush against mine, I took this as a sign to resume and take things up a notch. Daringly, I nip at her bottom lip and slowly trail my lips to her jaw than finally her neck. "Jess.." I heard her moan incoherently when I kissed her pulse point, almost immediately her hands tightened they're grasp in my hair but I didn't mind it one bit. My teeth gently bit into her creamy white skin, and I fully intend to leave a mark there.

Sadly, our little intimate moment was cut short by a certain uncle of mine.

"Oh c'mon! Right on the couch?!" Luke shouted causing Sarah to quickly remove herself off from me.

"Luke!" She gasped with flushed cheeks. ".. Hi." she waved shyly at the older man.

Luke looked a little red himself but he still managed to give her a small smile. "Uh- hey.."

I glared at the older man. "Hey Luke, nice of you to barge in."

He didn't back down from my look and instead glared right back at me. "In case you've forgotten I live here too and I'm the one who pays rent. So, that means there will be no making out here while I'm in the same vicinity as you two."

This time I didn't hold in an annoyed groan. I was briefly distracted when I noticed a red-faced Sarah getting up from the couch. "I think it's time for me to go-"

"You don't have to go, we still have to finish the movie." I tried to convince her to stay.

She kisses me quickly before giving me a beautiful smile. "We'll have another movie night, I promise. I have to get home anyway, I have some baking to do for your basket for tomorrow's fundraiser."

I bitterly sigh. "Right."

"I'll see you at the fundraiser." Sarah says when she grabs the rest of her things.

I give her a small genuine smile. "I'll be there to bid on your basket."

"Good. See you guys later." She smiled widely at both me and Luke before heading to the front door.

I blew a small sigh when I noticed the older man looking at me with an amused smile, it was seriously starting to annoy me. "What?"

"Oh. Nothing." Luke tried to hide his grin behind his fist but his attempt was futile. "I just didn't know you could be so cutesy with you're girlfriend. Sarah's turning you into a real softie huh?"

"Watch it Luke." I grumbled out when getting up from the couch.

"What? I just think it's cute is all!" He bellowed with a loud chuckle.

I groaned when I realized he was purposely trying to annoy me. "I'm going now." I headed straight for my room.

His response was even more laughter. "Hey! You don't want to stick around? Maybe you could show me your incredibly mushy side. We could even watch the Notebook together and eat dozens of pounds of ice cream!"

"Night!" I shouted from my room. The feeling of burying myself in bed was becoming all the more tempting.

 ** _Sarah_**

 **THE GILMORE GIRLS RESIDENCE**

"Honey I'm home!" I called out to the seemingly empty house.

Lorelai and Rory immediately popped out of the living at the sound of my voice and both their blue eyes noticed the few bags I was carrying around in front of the doorstep. "What's all this?" Mom asked curiously.

I grinned at the both of them. "After I left Luke's, I decided to shop at Doose's Market for some ingredients."

"Ingredients?" Rory echoed unsurely.

"Yep. I told the both of you that I'm actually going to bake for my basket this year." I went into the kitchen and placed the bags on the counters. "I meant it."

"Blasphemy!" Lorelai yelped with a grief stricken face. "I thought you were kidding."

I giggled evilly. "I certainly was not. Tonight I'm going to work hard and actually give cooking a shot. Who knows? It might actually turn out great."

Rory snorted. "Turn out great? Sarah, do you remember when you decided to host the bake sale at our old elementary school? You nearly burned the whole entire kitchen down, the school almost threatened to sue us!"

"In my defense, a teacher shouldn't have left a 10 year old in charge of a freaking kitchen, much less a stove!" I mockingly pout. By now I had taken off my jacket and was now washing my hands to prepare myself to cook.

"Well, what's on the menu?" Lorelai's eyes scanned the purchased goods. "Is this all for your basket?"

I nodded but my focus was solely on my ingredients. "It may seem a lot but it's really not. I'm just going to make a simple grilled-cheese sandwich, with baked potato fries, and for dessert a pumpkin pie. For drinks I was thinking a couple cans of soda, nothing special."

"Wow.. you're putting a lot of thought into this." Mom said with a mouthful of chips.

I wrinkled my nose in semi-disgust. "It is a fundraiser, I'm just trying to make my basket more appealing."

Rory scoffed. "You mean more appealing for Jess."

"And if I was?" I countered.

"Look, all I'm saying is that its a little weird for you to break tradition."

"Rory.." I began with an exasperated sigh. "I'm not ditching tradition, I'm still doing the fundraiser. Just my way, and this year I actually want to bake. There is nothing wrong with that."

My sister looked to Lorelai for help but she gave a simple shrug of the shoulder. "Sarah's right. She's not breaking any tradition.. she's just tweaking a bit. There's no need to get worked up over this Rory."

".. I hope she doesn't expect us to help her cook." Thankfully, my sister decided to change the subject.

I laugh quietly under my breath. "I wasn't even going to ask. Now shoo, I need the whole entire kitchen to myself tonight and I don't need another set of Gilmore's threatening to eat my food."

"If it's even edible." Mom muttered.

"Hey!" I threw the first thing I saw, which was a large wooden ladle but Lorelai managed to easily duck under it.

"Okay! Okay! We're going!" She called out as both she and Rory went into the living room.

I blew a small sigh when I realized I had no idea how to begin or where should I even start with. My eyes flickered to the ingredients for the pumpkin pie and I figured it was best to start there. "Okay, Sarah, you can do this. You just gotta focus and not burn down the house." I repeated it like a mantra, over and over again. 'Don't burn down the house!'

This was certainly going to be a long night.

"Now where is the recipe Sookie gave me?"

 _ **[The very next day..]**_

 **STARS HOLLOW GAZEBO**

The weather was a lot nicer than yesterday's, I was actually quite relieved that I decided to wear a simple knee-length white spaghetti strapped dress with a thick red sweater on top, I made sure to add an extra layer just in case it got windy. I donned my brown heeled boots and left my hair down in its usual long waves.

Everyone was gathered in the middle of Stars Hollow in front of the gazebo, Taylor was already in front of the stand was prepared to start the bidding. "Wow, looks like a lot of people showed up this year.."

"Well, who could blame them?" Rory grinned at me. "Taylor has been pushing everyone to participate in the auction this year, it was either this or the never ending complaining the towns people would have to suffer with."

I look at the older man who was now arguing about something with Kirk. "I somehow believe that."

Lorelai dreamily sighs. "You know what's wonderful about this festival?"

"No, what?" I asked slightly amused.

"That it always falls on the day after trash day. Therefore, all the stuff that you forgot to throw out that you would normally be stuck with for another whole week, you can instead put in a pretty basket and auction off for charity." She voiced rather deviously.

"That is wonderful." I admitted when I realized I wouldn't have to deal with the extra bins of garbage in front of our house. 'Hooray!' I mentally cheered.

"No argument there." Rory added.

Lane ran up to the three of us out of the middle of nowhere, she looked slightly out of breath when she was in front of us. "Okay, I've got it all worked out."

"Tell please." My sister opened all ears.

"Well, I invited my cousin David to come and bid on my basket, you know, to keep my mother happy." She added the last part with a slight roll of the eyes.

Lorelai nodded as she tried to keep up with the place, I knew exactly how she felt. "Uh huh."

Lane eagerly nodded. "Then when he gets it, we tell my mom we're gonna go eat over at the park where Henry's gonna call on the pay phone at exactly two o'clock for the 'all is clear' sigh. Then David, with the twenty bucks I give him, will disappear, Henry will arrive, and we'll finally have out first official date

"Okay, it's official. My head is spinning." I moaned at the dizziness I felt. "Total overload of information."

She smiled apologetically at me before giving Rory a small white basket. "Stash this at Miss Patty's for me, okay?"

Rory looked confused at the basket now in her hand. "Don't you need this for David to bid on?"

"Oh no, my mom packed that one. You know, homemade granola, wheat grass juice, soy chicken taco." Lane shuddered in disgust.

"Suddenly our lunches are looking pretty good." Lorelai muttered to me.

"Couldn't agree more." I quietly voiced in response.

Lane pointed to the basket in Rory's hand. "This is the Henry basket. I went by Gianelli's and stopped in and picked up a couple of meatball heroes and some chips. I also packed a change of clothes, makeup, makeup remover, and three temporary tattoos."

Mom snorted. "Sure, 'cause four would be trashy." I bit my lip to muffle any laughter.

"I gotta go. I gotta sneak back into my house. Oh, I'm so excited!" She squealed before running off.

Lorelai looked nostalgic for a moment. "Ah man. I remember the days of lying to my mother about a boy. Once I had a boy hidden in the closet and of course Mom wouldn't leave, so I finally had to pretend to get sick to my stomach just to get her out of the room long enough for him to climb out the window and down the tree. He fell, broke his leg. Ah, to be young again."

"I could actually see you doing that." I chuckled deeply before we all handed over our baskets to the auctioneer.

The auction soon begins, a crowd is gathered in front of the gazebo filled with baskets. Taylor stood at the podium in front as the auctioneer as he prepares to sell a green wicker basket.

Taylor clears his throat as the auction begins. "Now the next basket I have here is a lovely green wicker number that would be a charming addition to any room once the lunch is gone. Let's start the bidding at five dollars. Do I hear five?"

"Five dollars." David raises his hand. I figured this was the cousin Lane was talking about.

"Okay, I have five dollars. Do I hear ten?" Taylor looks around the crowd for any more offers.

Kirk immediately raises his hand. "Ten dollars." I laughed with Lorelai when I saw Mrs. Kim give him a withering glare, which scared the living daylights out of him. "Withdrawn." He whimpers.

Taylor did not looked amused. "Okay, I'm still at five, do I hear ten? Five going once, five going twice, sold to the young man for five dollars." David go's to grab the basket, where I see Lane smile in accomplishment of her devious plan.

"Now this a lovely brown basket with detailed red ribbons on the side, this is surely a fine beauty of decadent art." Taylor described it as if it was some art phenomenon. 'It's just a basket with food, I wouldn't really call that art.' I mentally rebuffed.

I leaned towards both Lorelai and Rory and point directly at my basket. "That's my basket!"

"Nice." Mom complimented me.

"Looks good." Rory smiled at me.

Taylor gruffly clears his throat. "Quiet down! Remember people, this is still an auction!"

"How badly does he want to be hosting a game show?" Lorelai muttered to the both of us.

"Hm, he can taste it." Rory joked.

"Let's start the bidding at three dollars." Taylor announced.

I pouted. "That's two dollars less than Lane's, not fair."

My face relaxed when I waited for a certain someone's hand to go up in the air, but I felt my breath catch in my throat when I heard a familiar someone's voice who had the tendency to annoy me and had the height of a Sasquatch. "Five dollars!"

"What in the world..?" I murmur disbelief. Lorelai and Rory looked just as stunned as I was.

Taylor grinned broadly. "Now that's the kind of bidding we want to hear today."

"Oh he's good. He's very good." Mom was still at astonished.

"Five dollars, do I hear ten dollars?" He looked around for any more offers.

"Ten dollars." Another voice called, this time I knew exactly who it was and this person was definitely welcomed, with a crooked smirk playing on his lips. 'It's official.. Jess is my hero.'

Taylor glared slightly at Jess, but I figured it was because he was labeled as the town's hoodlum. "Okay, I have ten dollars. Do I have fifteen?"

"Twenty." Jess shouted.

"Twenty dollars, do I hear twenty-five?"

"Thirty." Dean shouted.

I spun around to face my sister as the bidding went on. "Rory! What the hell is your boyfriend doing?"

"I-I don't know!" She stammered out and I felt a sudden wave of sympathy hit my like a ton of bricks when I saw the painful expression written on her face.

Taylor sighed. "Okay, see, you boys don't seem to understand the way this thing works."

Jess looked confident as ever, maintaining his composure. "Forty dollars."

"Fifty dollars." Dean continued.

"Excuse me, have either of you noticed how tiny this thing is?" Taylor sounded almost baffled.

"Seventy-five." Jess bid.

Taylor's eyes flickered between the two gentlemen. "Now we're not talking cents gentlemen, we're talking dollars remember." He spoke in a condescending voice.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Uh oh. Dean's hesitating."

"Why is Dean even bidding on my basket?" I hissed, I was becoming severely annoyed by my sister's Sasquatch of a boyfriend. He had no business bidding on my basket, which I might add was specially made for Jess.

"Eighty." 'Speak of the devil..'

Rory looked torn, unsure of what she should do. "He does not have eighty dollars to spend on that basket."

"Eighty? Eighty dollars?" Taylor repeated twice. I felt my heart become heavy in my chest as I held in my breath and prepared for the final offer.

"Ninety." Jess soon voiced making my chest feel less constricted.

Taylor looked questionably at the New Yorker. "Ninety dollars, is that correct?"

Mom looked at a loss for words. "You know, I don't think he'll have to."

"Okay, we've got ninety going once, ninety dollars going twice.." A heartbeat later there was still a pause of silence before Taylor spoke again. "Sold to the nice young hoodlum in the back for ninety dollars." I breathed a small sigh of relief when I realized Jess rightfully won my basket.

"I'm trying to think, uh, in what scenario this situation could be construed as positive." Lorelai voiced a bit uncertain.

I raked a frustrated hand through my hair. "I don't even know what to say that could be remotely positive about this."

"Well, no one's head's on fire and Jess still won your basket." She tried.

"But why did Dean even bid on my basket in the first place? He knew which one was mine and which one was Rory's." I pointed out.

Rory looked to be in deep thought and I knew it involved what we all just witnessed during the bidding. "I think it's best if I go talk to Dean."

She was turning to walk away and I trailed behind her. "I'm coming with you."

"Sarah, I don't think that's a good idea-"

"Rory stop. I'm coming with you and that's final." I repeated, this time a bit more firmer.

"Do you want some help?" Lorelai offered helpfully.

Rory shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'm just officially not a fan of unpredictability."

Mom nodded. "I totally understand. Good luck."

"Thanks, we'll need it." I squeeze my mom's hand before walking off after Rory.

 _[Meanwhile with Dean..]_

"I'm gonna kill him." Dean announces with a clenched jaw.

"I don't think that's a good idea if you don't want to go to jail and all." I droned in a monotone voice. He shot me a dark look, but I just glared right back at him.

Rory sighed. "Dean, what exactly was that? You knew that was Sarah's basket."

Dean shook his head. "That's not the point. No, he was messing with me."

"I don't-"

"What do you mean he was messing with you? Jess is my boyfriend and I made the basket for him, not you! So, what in the world were you thinking when you placed a bid on my basket?" I impatiently questioned.

"He was messing with me and it's the last time, I swear to God." He kept muttering to himself as he paced back and forth on concrete.

"Dean, calm down." Rory advised.

He ignored her. "Why would he do this? Matter in fact Sarah, why would you let him do that? I told you he was bad news."

I was affronted at his relentless attack on Jess. "And I've ignored you countless of times. Right now, you're the only one who's acting like a huge jerk."

"I'm only trying to help you!" Dean defended.

"Criticizing Jess isn't helping me Dean! You're dating my own sister for god sakes!" I shout, feeling my bubbling temper finally spill over. "Instead of worrying yourself sick over my relationship, maybe you should start worrying over your own!"

"What are you talking about?" The tale male groaned in response. "He's trying to make me crazy."

"Just don't let him." Rory voiced in a consoling tone.

"Rory.." I was too shocked to say anything else. Questions were circling through my mind as to why was she consoling him after his childish display he gave at the auction.

I felt a familiar arm snake its way around my waist. "I gotta tell you, of all the nutty barn raising shindigs this town can cook up, this one wasn't half bad." Jess smirks with my basket in his other hand.

"Glad you enjoyed it." Dean spat.

"Yes I did." He cockily answers before looking at me. "So shall we?"

My mouth opens to answer but I'm cut off by the boisterous voice of the Sasquatch. "Shall we what?"

"Shall we go?" Jess repeated.

Dean clenched his jaw. "Go where?"

"Go eat." He answers with an eye roll.

"Excuse me?"

"The person who buys the basket wins the company of the person who makes the basket for lunch. Basket, basket maker, guy who didn't bring enough money." Jess explained purposely slow, almost as if he was speaking to a child.

"You think this is funny." Dean accused.

Jess gave a careless shrug. "Well, it's no Lenny Bruce routine but it has its moments."

"Bye Jess." He said forcefully.

"Where you going?" Jess pretended to look confused.

Dean scowled. "You're the one who's going."

"Oh, as soon as Sarah is ready." His arm around my waist tightened slightly.

"She's not going with you."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Really, is that true?"

Dean nodded. "Yes, it's true."

"Excuse me Edgar Bergen, I think I'd like Charlie McCarthy to answer now." I could tell Jess was starting to get just as annoyed as I was. My eyes darted between the two glaring males, my palms began to sweat as I realized this could possibly turn into a fight, knowing Jess has the tendency to be hot-headed.

"Shut up." The taller male retaliated with. I winced when I realized Dean probably didn't get that insult.

"Dean." Rory began slowly.

He spun around towards her. "What?"

"Well.."

"Oh, come on!"

"It's tradition." My sister defended.

Dean groaned. "I don't believe this! Why are you siding with him?"

"No one is siding with anyone!" I argued. "I have had enough of your behavior Dean. My mother, my sister and I have been doing this every year since we moved here and you're ruining the tradition."

"So buck tradition." He shot back.

I looked at him wide eyed. "Are you kidding? I have to do this, that's the whole point of this auction. Taylor would especially freak out if he knew I was not abiding by the rules."

Dean rolled his eyes. "So? No one's forcing you to go! Can't you tell he isn't good enough for you?"

"Stop it Dean, don't turn this into a big thing." I warned him. This wasn't exactly how I imagined the auction would go today. 'So much for wishful thinking..'

"Don't go." He pleaded.

Jess scoffed in exasperation. "Oh geez man, she's not shipping off to 'Nam."

"You SO need to shut up now." Dean ordered with tightened fists, however Jess' still looked smug as ever.

I bit my bottom lip. "Look, Dean, it's a picnic, it's lunch. I specifically made the basket for Jess, my relationship with him doesn't concern you nor do you have any say on the matter. Please stop whatever your trying to do and just let your animosity towards Jess go."

He shook his head in disbelief. "No."

I groaned. "Well it's not really your choice now, is it? What do you think's gonna happen?"

"Yeah, I think I'd like to hear this one also." Jess interjected with a smirk.

"I don't want you to go." Dean pleaded with me once more.

My sister hissed loudly at him. "Dean!"

"Fine, forget it, go." He gave a frustrated shout before angrily stomping off.

Rory shot both me and Jess an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry for his behavior, I better go after him." She quickly sped up behind him.

"Ror.." I try to stop her but realize my attempt was futile.

"What the hell was that about?" Jess finally spoke after what felt like years of silence.

I leaned against him before letting a sigh slip past my lips. "I don't know, I'm not even sure what happened myself."

"Don't worry about it." Jess waved it off. "I believe I won a date with a beautiful girl and I fully intend to take advantage of it."

That made a smile stretch across my lips. "Well you did rightfully win my basket and I have to obey the rules.." I lightly tease.

"Good.. now c'mon. I know exactly where we should eat." Was all he did before he lead the way for me.

"Where are we going?" I ask slightly amused.

"Sarah, don't you know by now I'll never tell." Jess smirk deviously at me. "Besides, you'll know soon enough."

I had a feeling Jess was going to make this worth my while.

 ** _Jess_**

 **STARS HOLLOW MEADOWS**

"We're eating here?" Sarah questioned with a smile on her face.

I tried to act nonchalant. "Yeah, I mean a lot of good things happened here, so why not?"

"Okay cool guy." She joked. We both sat down on the cushion like marsh and placed her basket right beside me. I admit, I was hesitant in opening the basket since I had no clue on what exactly she prepared for me, but I figured it couldn't be too bad. At least edible enough to eat.

"Yeah, I like this place." I added with a small smile.

Sarah quietly giggled as she played with a couple of petals that had fallen off from the flowers surrounding us. "Wow Jess. A place in Stars Hollow you actually like. I'm stunned."

My lips turn up into a smug satisfied smirk. "I did say there was some good memories here. I specifically remember kissing a certain girl right in the same spot where your currently sitting."

"Should I be worried?" She tilted her head amusedly enough.

"Nah, I'm sure she doesn't mind." I lean forward and give her a quick kiss on the lips.

Sarah leaned back and laid flat against the grass. "It is nice around here.. peaceful."

"It is." I agreed. There was a moment of content silence between us, not that I minded. It was just very calm and it felt like I could just sit here forever in peace.

"I have a confession to make." Sarah's voice broke the silence. "I was super relieved when you outbid Dean."

I smirk at her reveal. "You didn't think I was going to save you in time?"

"No, more like you wouldn't have enough money to outbid him like that." She shyly bit her lip.

"What's up with that guy anyway? I know I'm no saint, but don't you think it's a little strange how he was so set on preventing you from leaving with me. The whole basket stunt was weird too. Isn't he dating your sister?" I asked the last part a bit too awkwardly.

Sarah nodded. "He is. I never thought much on how he acted against you until the auction today. I didn't think Dean was capable enough to act like such a jerk, I mean before I knew he could be a little bit annoying but now it's just unbearable."

I shrugged without much of a thought. "I don't know. I guess rubbing our relationship in his face started as a joke just to bug him, but then he just got so mad, you know? And he is so tall, and I just was looking at him and he's standing there all tall and mad and I just.. I don't know. It was... it was really funny." A small chuckle escaped from me.

"It wasn't funny." She deadpanned.

I raised both my hands up in surrender. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't intend to piss anyone off. Even if Dean is fun to annoy."

Sarah sighed. "I know. I just don't want to argue with Rory about this later."

"If it means anything, I'm sorry about that." I sincerely try to apologize since I knew she was concerned about her sister and her disaster of a relationship.

"It's not your fault." She simply stated.

Clearing my throat, I try to change the subject. "Whatever. So why don't we open this thing?" I say before I open the basket she nicely prepared for me.

The beautiful brunette bit her lip in a nervous fashion. "Now, I want you to know it was my first time cooking and I tried really hard to make it.. hopefully it doesn't taste that bad or worse, you don't die from my horrible cooking."

Almost hesitantly, I open the picnic basket and inspect the contents inside. "Wow.." I breath in slight awe. Carefully taking out each content from the basket, there was a grilled-cheese sandwich placed into a container with some fries on the side, in a neat serving tin was a pumpkin pie which looked slightly brunt but still looked edible nonetheless. Other than that, there were some cans of soda and a few plates & utensils for the pie.

"This stuff doesn't look half bad." I grinned at her.

She shyly licked her lips. "But does it taste good, is the question."

"I guess we'll just have to find out." I open the container and munch on its contents. My eyes widened in semi shock when I bit into the grilled-cheese sandwich. The burst of flavor immediately covers my tastebuds, with the distinctive tastes of fresh tomatoes and creamy cheese. 'I think.. Gouda?' I gave a mental guess.

"How is it?" Sarah leans forward anxiously.

I swallowed down the rest of the half before opening a can of soda and taking a swift sip of the bubbly liquid. "It's actually pretty good." I finally voice out.

"R-really?" She stammered slightly surprised.

"If you don't believe me, try it for yourself." I handed her the other half.

Her delicate fingers gently grasped the sandwich before biting into it. After a few small seconds, here eyes widened in saucers. "Oh!" She exclaimed after swallowing. "This is good! I have to say, my culinary skills have gotten better."

I chuckled at her exuberant personality. "Well don't get too excited yet, I have yet to eat the pie. This whole lunch date could be ruined if it's not up to my standards."

"Standards?" She questions amusedly. "I wasn't aware you had standards."

I clutched my hand to my jacket. "Ouch." I try to pout but it ultimately fails. I pull her pie into my lap and carefully cut a slice of dessert before feasting on it. The rich layer of pumpkin pie rests onto my tongue and I'm taken aback by the creamy goodness minus the slight burnt areas. "Whoa.. this is better than the sandwich."

Sarah gasped. "What, it is? I could've sworn I ruined it."

"Still good." I said with a mouthful of pie.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust before staring pointedly at the pie. "Let me try it." I lift my fork up to her rosy pink lips and offer her a bite. Sarah hesitantly opens her mouth and takes in the piece of pie before lightly chewing.

"Satisfied?" I cheekily retort.

Sarah hummed in response. "Oh yeah.. I should cook more often."

"Correction, you should cook for me more often." I joke.

A soft laugh left her. "Don't you live above a diner?"

"Well yeah.. but c'mon, me asking Luke to cook for me sounds so.." I trailed off.

".. unlike you?" She guessed.

"Yeah."

She rolled her eyes jokingly before looking around the fields of grass and flowers spread around us. "Well this is nice.. almost nicer than the time I re-read The Fountain Head."

My head snapped up to look at the beauty before me. "You read The Fountain Head?" There was no denying the tone of awe in my voice.

"Yes, but it was really hard to understand what I read back then." Sarah smiles to herself as if she's recalling the memory with her big hazel eyes wide and bright. "Seems so long ago now that I think about it."

"How old were you when you read it?" I was genuinely curious.

"About ten." She answered me. "I read it after Rory was finished with it, but I think she was just as confused as I was when I finished reading."

"Ten?" I gawked.

Sarah cheeks flushed a bit but she gave a small shrug. "Yes, ten but I didn't really understand a word of it, until I re-read it when I was fifteen."

I shook my head in disbelief. "I've yet to make it through it."

"The Fountainhead is easily a classic but it's not my cup of tea. I'm not much for politics." Sarah admitted easily enough.

"Yeah, Ayn Rand is a political nut." I chimed in.

She fought back a laugh. "I agree, but Rory will defend Ayn Rand to the death. Something about how nobody could write a forty page monologue the way that she could."

"Okay, tomorrow I will try reading it again, and you will.." I trailed off, knowing she would be able to finish my thought.

Sarah pretended to heave in pain. "Read the works of your great Ernest Hemingway. Yes, I do remember promising you that."

Leaning forward, I brush a lock of hair behind her ear. "You know, Ernest only has lovely things to say about you."

Sarah's breath hitched inside her throat and I saw a light coloring covering her cheeks. "Jess..-" I didn't let her finish speaking when I captured her lips with mine in a slow steamy kiss, my hands instantly tangling themselves in her long tresses as I feel her own make a mess of my hair. Her soft sighs and quiet moans were slowly driving me crazy, I had to fight the urge to push her down on the grass and make her scream my name. But I reminded myself baby steps when it came to her since I remembered Sarah had very little experience when it came to kissing or fooling around department.

It made me feel smug, knowing I was the only guy she had ever been this intimate with and I'll be damn if I'll ever let another guy ever had the chance to kiss her or touch her the way I do. I couldn't get enough of those addicting lips and her enticing scent which smelt of vanilla and held light traces of.. 'Orchids?' I slowly nipped at her bottom lip earning a string of moans from the beautiful brunette in my arms. I took her face in my hands and slowly let my lips drift to her collar bone and began kissing the spot I knew would drive her crazy.

"Jess!" Sarah gasped in delight with a slight pant, the slow rise and fall of her chest immediately caught my attention and I felt myself twitch in my jeans. 'Fuck..'

Almost painfully slow, I parted my mouth from hers as my eyes took in her flushed features. From her now swollen red lips, to her hazel eyes shining bright in euphoria, I felt a swell of pride well up in me since I was responsible for her flustered state.

After a few breathless pants, I was able to get my breathing under control. "Okay, I'm officially starving." I admitted and try to focus on other things to calm down the tent hidden in my jeans. I rise up from the ground and sneakily adjust myself to avoid the questioning look on her face.

"Wha..?" She still looked a bit dazed.

I offer her a smug smile. "Come on, I'll get you a pizza."

Sarah's features took on a look of amusement. "Didn't we just finish eating?"

"Are you seriously turning down an offer of free food?" I questioned her with a teasing tone.

She shook her head with a laugh. "You're right, I would be completely insane if I turned down an offer like that."

"Good choice." A smirk comes across my face as I help her up to her feet. "After you my lady." I gestured to the path right in front of us.

"Why thank you, good sir." Sarah said in a posh like tone.

"Do you like pepperoni?" I ask as we walk side by side together.

She giggled. "Jess, I already agreed to go get pizza, but add in black olives and I'm sold."

My face wrinkled in disgust at the mention of that specific topping. "Black olives? No way! How can you sully the delicious taste of pepperoni pizza with that.. atrocity?"

"Hey! It's not a crime to like black olives as a pizza topping." Sarah defended with folded arms.

I internally groaned when I spotted her bottom lip jutted out in an adorable pout. Now I normally wasn't a mushy type of guy, hell I wasn't one at all. I wasn't affected by things deemed cute by society, but there was no way in hell I was able to resist this girl. Especially when she was looking at me with big hopeful eyes. Throwing my hands up in defeat, I let out a brief sigh. "Fine. We can just get it on the half you want."

Immediately, Sarah's pout disappeared before blinking innocently up at me. "Well.. If you insist."

'Clever little minx..' I noted with a small smirk, I think she knew that I caught on to her innocent act but so it goes. I wrap an arm around her waist and her body melts into mine as we both leave the meadow and head back into the chaos that was Stars Hollow.

 ** _Sarah_**

 **THE GILMORE GIRLS RESIDENCE**

I laugh when I feel Jess' hands attempt to tickle my sides. "Jess! Cut it out!" I giggled against him when I feel his callous fingertips brush against the side of my ribs.

"Sarah, if I had any idea that you were this ticklish, I would've done this a lot more sooner." Jess smirked knowingly at me.

I almost screech when he tickled a particular spot between the crease of my waist. I ripped myself away from his hold before giving him a playful slap to the chest. "Stop it! And as you can see, we're already here."

Jess feigned for a pout. "Are you that eager to abandon me for the comfort of your own home?"

"Hm.. let me think." I pretended as I lightly tap my index finger against my chin. "I'm going to have to go with yes."

"And to think I spent all that money on pizza for you." He snapped his finger while he mastered the look of mock hurt.

My lips turn up into a small smile. "Yes, well thank you for tonight. I had fun. Minus the whole Dean fiasco." I shyly uttered the last part before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Today was.. entertaining to say the least." Jess smirked as he spoke all cryptic. I assumed it was just his way of saying he had fun, and it was probably an added bonus that he got to annoy Dean too.

I nodded. "I can totally agree with that." My eyes flickered briefly to the door behind me. "I better go before momma bear turns into a real nightmare about supposed nonexistent curfews."

Jess snorted under his breath. "You Gilmore's are a real riot, y'know that?"

I bite back a laugh and instead give him a big smile. "I know, but that's what's so exciting about us." I held in my breath when I visibly saw Jess walk closer to him, to the point where his face was hovering over mine. ".. wouldn't you agree?" I whisper the last part as I move my hand to cup his cheek, brushing my thumb against his mysteriously addicting soft lips.

Now usually, I wasn't this forward with Jess and my heart literally skipped a beat when he pressed a small kiss against the pad of my thumb. It was almost enough to make me melt, but I had to remind myself now wasn't the time to get all.. fired up.

"I better go.." The words were ripped from my throat before I could stop them, but standing this close to Jess was muddling with my head and it was difficult to form a single coherent through with his lips making my skin tingle.

"You don't have to." Jess tried to convince me to stay a little longer, and god knows I wanted to, but even then I knew it wasn't such a good idea if what I was currently feeling was the intense pressure of unresolved sexual tension.

My lips curve into a small disappointed smile. "I do." Reaching up on my tippy toes before pressing a chaste but firm kiss against his lips. Jess arms immediately wrap themselves around to the middle of my back as he tries to press my body closer against him. My resolve was beginning to slip away but using the remaining will I had, I force myself to break away from his lips with a quiet sigh.

His eyes were dark and clouded with the familiar haze of lust, I had resisted the urge to pull his lips back onto mine when I became increasingly aware that we were this close to making out on the front porch of my house. Goodness knows, I didn't want Miss Patty and Babette spreading even more gossip around Stars Hollow about Jess and I, and our supposed 'star-crossed love affair' between the town's princess and the out-of-town rebel. Talk about a juicy forbidden romance.

I swear, both these women look for soap-operas themes in the everyday lives of Stars Hollows citizens.

I bite my bottom lip as I move away from Jess. "I'll see you tomorrow?" I didn't even try to hide the hopeful tone in my voice.

Even through his lust-filled gaze, Jess managed a crooked smirk. "You'll see me. I'll probably be too busy wiping down tables at Luke's given request."

"Oh the horror." I teased, leaning up and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight Dodger." I opened the front door behind me and went inside before he could say anything else, but I was pretty sure I heard a faint "Night" leave his lips.

 **[In the Living Room]**

"Mom?" I called as I stepped into the doorway, I figured she was still up and probably watching something on tv when I a heard the familiar jingles of old tv sitcoms.

"In here!" She shouted back. Lorelai was sitting on the couch with a remote in her hand as her big blue eyes focused on the screen in front of her only to drift to my hazel ones. "Oh, hey. Where've you been? I thought Taylor auctioned you off to the highest bidder."

I nodded as I plopped down beside her. "He did. Jess and I went out to get pizza after the picnic. It was really nice."

Mom didn't look too happy when I mentioned the part about Jess, I was about to ask her what was wrong when I noticed the strained smile she was now giving me. "Update on the cooking?"

I was happy that Lorelai was at least trying to make an effort to not completely blow up at the news of me being alone with Jess. "It went great! It was actually edible and it was.. perfect." I knew it was cheesy to call my time with Jess as perfect but there was really no other word to sum it up, it was just that.

"That's.. awesome honey." Lorelai barely managed to squeak out.

"Where's Rory? Is she still out with.. Dean?" Just saying his name left a bitter taste in mouth, but I successfully restrained myself from vomiting.

"Yeah.. she should be coming back soon. Those two have some things to work on."

"Right."

I bit my bottom lip when I felt the atmosphere become awkward and tense. "Well, it's late and I'm tired. I've had a long day, I better get some sleep." I trudged upstairs, but the idea of going straight to sleep went out the window when mom followed me up the stairs and into my room.

I went to sit on my bed while Lorelai was standing in my doorway wearing a somewhat anxious expression on her face. "So just curious, how was the picnic?"

"It was great." I simply answered as I took off my sweater.

She gave a quick nod. "Good. Did you get the Dean issue resolved?"

"No." I bitterly answer. "I refuse to have a conversation with that overgrown Sasquatch. He humiliated Rory today when he bid on my basket and he's just do frustrating! I don't even know what Rory sees in him!"

"Well he's coming over later and we're gonna smooth things over hopefully." Mom wrung her hands together as she gave me a hopeful smile.

I resist the urge to snort but nodded. "Yeah, as long as I get some sleep tonight."

"Obviously you had a good time with Jess, the picnic and the pizza. So good, that's.. I'm glad." Lorelai shifted uncomfortably as she gave me another strained smile. It was apparent to me that mom had something to say but she was too nervous or anxious to bring it up.

"Mom.. what's wrong?" I ask hesitantly.

"What what?" She pretended to look innocent by knew that mom was far from innocent when she wanted to snoop in people's lives.

I clicked my tongue. "Well, you keep saying the word good and your standing in my room wearing the I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar look. Now, please tell me what's wrong?"

Lorelai laughed uneasily. "I have nothing to say. I never have anything to say."

I give her the 'I-don't-believe-you' look. "You and I both know that's far from the truth."

"It's.. I don't know. I'm just surprised that you're still hanging out with him, that's all." Mom revealed with sweaty palms.

"Why?" I barely manage to ask her.

Lorelai shrugged. "He doesn't seem like the nicest kid."

I didn't know what it was, maybe it was from the pent up anger I felt for Dean today or the remaining guilt I had for keeping Jess a secret but I was suddenly becoming increasingly irritated with Lorelai's interrogation. "And Dean is?" I argued. "You don't know Jess, not like I do."

"No, I guess not." She said in a small voice.

"You're still just judging him by that one time he came over here." I recalled the memory with bitterness and disappointment.

"Which, by the way, was not a rousing success." Lorelai shot back sarcastically.

I sighed in exasperation. "Mom, we talked about this. Jess isn't who you think he is, he was angry and bitter when he moved here. He has a lot of issues with his mom, don't judge him on his one visit here. Trust me, Jess has a really good side to him. You'll see it eventually."

"Good, I can't wait." Mom said but I knew she wasn't entirely convinced yet.

"Mom-"

Lorelai sighed. "No, well, I'm sorry. It's.." She paused when sitting beside me on my bed. "I just, uh, I don't know. From the things I've seen and the things I hear.."

"Things like what?" I questioned uneasily.

"The vandalism, the stealing, the cutting school, the fighting." She listed them off with such distaste, it was starting to make me uneasy even more because she thought what everyone else thought about Jess. It was going to be even much harder for her to accept my relationship with Jess now than ever before.

I crossed my arms as I hugged my sweater to my chest. "How do you know about the fighting? And c'mon! It was Chuck Presby, he probably deserved it."

"Be that as it may, he shouldn't have done it. As to how I found out.. well, Dean told me." Lorelai revealed anxiously.

My mouth fell open in shock. "Dean?"

"Yes."

"Dean? As in Rory's boyfriend Dean?" I was still in disbelief and soon enough, anger was replacing the shock rapidly.

She swallowed nervously. "Uh.. yeah."

I immediately stood of from my bed and whirled around to face my mother. "You've been discussing my love life with Dean? Since when are you two chummy buddies?"

"No, he discussed it with me." Lorelai answered as she stood up as well.

"When?"

Mom bit her lip. "Today. Sarah, he's really upset about this and so is Rory."

"So he went running to my mother?" I questioned her. "I cannot believe this, my relationship with Jess has nothing to do with him!"

"Well, he needed someone to talk to." She shot back.

I sighed into my hands. "Then he could've talked to me about this if he was so worried about me."

Lorelai looked at me with folded arms. "No, he couldn't 'cause you were off with Jess."

Now that hurt, I couldn't ignore the sudden pang in my heart when she looked at me like that. Like she was disappointed with me, but that didn't stop the anger I felt. "You're taking his side?" I said a bit hurt as I desperately tried to refuse shedding any tears.

Mom noticed how hurt I was and soon pulled me into her arms as she gave me a motherly smile. "Hey, I'm not taking sides here, okay? I'm Swiss, babe."

"Than why do I feel like you are?" I sighed. "Jess had every right to bid on my basket-"

"I know."

"So why are you so against the rules?"

Lorelai bit back a groan. "Sarah, this is not about the rule. I know what the rule is. This is about Dean being concerned that you're hanging out with someone who can get you hurt."

"Oh my god!" I shout in disbelief, talk about a sense of déjà vu. "How could Jess get me hurt?"

"I don't know, hon. In the short amount of time he's been here, he's managed to make a lot of enemies." She pointed out.

I winced when I realized her sentence held some truth. "Jess isn't good with people, but he's working on it."

"People are concerned about you, you know?" Lorelai reached forward to brush my hair back. "You're young and naïve and you think that everyone has some good inside if you give them a chance."

My eyes narrow slightly. "So you're saying that Jess is no good?"

Lorelai gave a tight lipped smile. "I've known guys like Jess. He seems cool because he's got this dangerous vibe and this problem with authority and he's seen a lot of Sylvester Stallone movies."

"Mom, we had this conversations before-"

"But guys like this get into trouble which, if you hang out with them, gets you into trouble and I don't want you to get into trouble." She cut me off with a firm tone.

"I'm sorry, are we talking about me and Jess still or are we suddenly talking about you and your unwise life experiences?" I shot back.

Mom held her hands up. "Hey, I've been there, okay? You haven't."

"Been where?" I exclaimed angrily. "I mean, it's not like we were having sex behind the diner or going to protests rally's to fight against the man. God, I can't even believe that I'm having this conversation with you. I mean, with you of all people. I mean.. don't you even trust me?" I finished heartbrokenly.

"Sarah."

I shook my head, not wanting to hear another word. "No, I'm done talking for tonight. I'm going to sleep."

"Uh, Dean is gonna be here any minute." She weakly smiles at me but I had no energy to try to return it.

"He's not my boyfriend, tell Rory's he's here to see her. Now please get out of my room." I begged my mother and my heart clenched when I watched her go and shut the door behind her.

When I was finally alone, I allowed hot angry tears to roll down my cheeks as I cried myself to sleep that night.

 _ **[The very next night..]**_

 **THE ELDER GILMORE RESIDENCE**

The silence was deafening, mom and I still hadn't spoken to each other. Even if we were to speak it would still be too awkward. I played with the chicken with my fork as grandma Emily kept rambling about something. I wasn't paying much attention if I was honest.

"A cigar club. Can you imagine a more disgusting organization to join? Your grandfather now pays money to sit in an enclosed room with a bunch of other men and blow smoke in each other's faces. Twice a week he comes home smelling like a flophouse. So I finally just confronted him. I said, 'Richard, I know you're going through a transitional period here and I encourage your trying out new things, but this seems completely out of character for you.' I'm sorry, am I boring you?" The much older woman complained.

'Yes you are..' I mentally sigh.

"No, you're not." Lorelai try to smile.

Rory smiled at her. "Sorry Grandma."

"So how are things at the inn?" Emily tries to change the subject on a lighter note.

Mom shrugged. "Fine, the same."

"And Rory, how's that boyfriend of yours?" She asked her granddaughter.

My sisters mouth opened but I quickly cut her off. "Oh Rory's boyfriend? Apparently he's become very chatty lately and doesn't know when to mind his own business." Rory glared at me but I glared right back at her, which took her by surprise. I was just too upset at both mom and Rory for their lack in support and trust in my own relationship.

"Well that's.." She paused with a tense smile. "..nice. Lorelai, anything new with you?"

"No, nothing. It's been pretty quiet around the house lately."

Emily nodded. "Well, sometimes quiet can be nice. Soothing. You can hear yourself think." She stopped when she finally acknowledged the tense silence between the three of us. "All right, what's going on with you three?"

"Nothing." We three answered.

The woman sputtered in disbelief. "It's not nothing. You've both been sitting here all night, not saying a word and not even looking at each other. Are you in a fight?"

"I'm not."

"Yes."

Lorelai eyes shot to mine. "You are the one who's been freezing me out all week."

I shrugged. "I haven't got anything to say."

"Why are you making a big deal about Jess?" She asked me.

I barely held back a scoff. "You're kidding, right?"

Emily's ears perk up at the name. "Jess, who's Jess?"

"No, I'm not kidding." She shot back.

"Guys, please knock it off." Rory pleaded.

I scoffed. "Right Rory, we should knock it off. You should give your boyfriend the same advice."

"Who's Jess?"

"My boyfriend." "Luke's nephew."

"Boyfriend?!" Emily squawked.

"It's not just about Jess, okay? It's the fact you can't even trust me in my own relationship." A angry huff left me.

Lorelai groaned. "We're not getting into this again."

Grandma huffed and began to get impatient with being left out the loop. "What? Getting into what? Is it about this Jess the thing you're not getting into again?"

I gave her a hollow laugh. "You know, you never liked Dean in the beginning."

"That's because I didn't know him." She defended and Rory nodded in relief.

"But you gave him a chance!" I pointed out. "And now you don't like Jess?"

"That's because I know him."

"Why? Because you think he's like all the guys you've dated in the past!" I shot up from my chair. "You're not even giving him a chance but you gave Dean one?"

"What's with all this nonsense about Jess? What happened to Dean?" Emily asks once again, clueless to the situation.

"He has his eye on her, and he's trouble." Mom told grandma and it made my blood boil.

"He's not trouble." I argued.

"Yes he is."

Emily looks disapprovingly at me. "Sarah, if your mother thinks this boy isn't appropriate company for you then you need to listen to her."

"There, thank you Mom." Lorelai shot me a smile of triumph.

I shook my head, bitterness creeping up my tone. "Congrats mother, way to sound like grandma and dictate my relationship. Sound familiar?" It gave me some satisfaction when I saw her wince at my insinuation. "I'm going to grandpa's study, please don't follow me." I turned around and marched out of the dining with a heavy heart.

 **[RICHARD'S STUDY]**

After a couple minutes, I heard a knock on the door. "Hey, can I come in?" Lorelai asked from behind the door.

I placed the book I was skimming back onto the bookshelf. "Why not? It's not like I can stop you."

Mom slowly opened the door before entering the room, Rory was most likely still in the dining room to keep grandma entertained. "Just listen to me for one second okay? No sighing, just let me talk."

I stay silent and wait to listen.

"I don't wanna lock you up and throw away the key." Was the first thing that left her lips.

"That's good." I say absentmindedly.

Her hands squeezed my shoulder in comfort. "Sarah, please listen to me." With a sigh I turn around and fade big blue eyes shining with unshed tears. "Your judgment means something, especially to me. I can't be your eyes and your ears and your brain."

"I'm trying really hard to get the big picture here."

She sighed. "I got spooked. I know it violates the fabulous cool mom clause we're supposed to have going but I did and I'm sorry."

My heart lighten at her apology. "It's okay." I found myself saying.

"Now, I am concerned about Jess."

"It was nice while it lasted." I mutter to myself before looking up at her. "You shouldn't be worried about Jess."

"But I am. However, you are a smart girl, you're a good judge of character, and the fact that he seems to like you gives him a couple of brownie points. You're not a little kid. I don't actually think you or Rory ever were a little kids."

I bit back a laugh. "I was, for about a month."

"If you think he's a decent guy, I have to respect your judgment." Lorelai weakly smiled at me. At least she was finally showing effort in giving him a chance.

"Thank you. That's all I can ask." A real smile touches my lips.

"But I'm asking you to be careful."

"I will."

"Really careful." She repeated but I noted the bright twinkle back in her eyes.

"I will."

Lorelai stared down at me. "'Boy in the plastic bubble' kind of careful."

I groaned. "Okay mom, I got it. I promise."

"And you have to cut Dean some slack. He's so crazy about Rory and worried about you. He didn't mean anything by coming to me. He just wigged." She explained and try to justify his actions.

"Still.." I paused when I noticed the look on her face. "Fine, I'll be more civil to him. Only for Rory."

"So, fight over?" Mom hesitantly asks.

I pulled her into a hug and smiled when I felt her tighten her arms. "Fight over."

"Good."

When I pulled back I noticed the slight nauseated look on her face. "You still don't look okay."

"Oh, well, my mother agreed with me tonight." Lorelai was on the verge of collapsing.

I patted her shoulder. "You poor thing, I'm so sorry."

Mom nodded with weary expression. "Thank you, I appreciate that."

 ** _[After Dinner..]_**

 **THE GILMORE GIRLS RESIDENCE**

"I'm so glad we're home." I moan happily as I throw my keys into the key bowl.

Lorelai shuddered next to Rory. "I need a shower."

My sister rolled her big blue eyes. "Don't be so dramatic."

"'I agree with you a hundred percent.' Ugh!"

"Go upstairs." I commanded her with a smile.

Lorelai's eyes brighten. "Find a movie, I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay."

"'I agree with you a hundred percent.' I may have to shave my head also."

"Bye." Both me and Rory say when she leaves to the bathroom.

"Wow, her spirit will never get old." I laughed before turning to Rory. "Look, Rory I'm sorry about the whole Dean fiasco, and I just want you to know that I-"

"Sarah, it's okay." She smiled at me. "I wasn't fair to you and Jess, and I should've trust your judgement and your relationship."

"Consider yourself forgiven." We both hug and I feel my heart instantly soften as both me and my twin connect once again after not speaking to each other for nearly a whole a day. "Now, can you please look for a movie? I need to do something first."

"Sure."

With that said, I take the phone and march upstairs to my room, I make sure to close the door behind me. I dial a number on the phone's keypad and anxiously wait when I hear it ring. After a few more rings a hoarse voice answers over the line. "Hello?"

"Hi." I shyly say as I tuck a strand of hair behind my hair.

"Hi."

I bit my bottom lip. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, you?" Jess casually asks.

"Nothing."

"Why'd you call?" Now he finally asks me the real question that's been on his mind.

A blush spread across my cheeks. "I-I wanted to.." I trailed off when I realized I didn't have any reason to call him, I just wanted to.

Sparing me from anymore embarrassment, he spoke after a minute of silence. "I'm glad you called." I could practically hear his crooked smirk over the phone.

"You are?"

"Yeah, I am." My body shudders when I hear just how smooth his voice is.

"Why?" I grinned as I sat down on my bed.

Jess dryly chuckled. "Because maybe you can explain what the hell this crazy woman is talking about."

I giggled at his interpretation of the book. "Oh, so your reading The Fountainhead."

He groaned. "Yes. Your fault, and you will pay."

"Hey, I didn't make you do anything you didn't want to." I huff teasingly before sucking in a sharp breath. "But if you commit to it one more time and if it still is awful for you, I will make it up to you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Jess let out a deep breath. "Okay. I'm gonna hold you to that." I could just imagine a crooked smirk playing on his lips.

 _'Tonight was definitely better than yesterday.'_

 _Make up your mind_

 _Let me leave or let me love you_

 _While you've been saving your neck_

 _I've been breaking mine for ya'_

 _The power is on, the guillotine hums_

 _My back's to the wall - go on, let it fall_

 _Make up your mind_

 _Before I make it up for you_


End file.
